Night Fury Island
by QueenAurora
Summary: After he loses Toothless in an unprovoked attack from an wild dragon, Hiccup finds himself taken to an island where he finds things he could have never dreamt of. Takes place a year after HTTYD 2, when Hiccup is now the chief of Berk, although Astrid really runs the village.
1. Chapter 1 Losing Toothless

Chapter 1 Losing Toothless

They were flying. They were flying often, but today was different. Today they were hunting. Not for fish, but for something bigger and far more dangerous. For the last few weeks there had been reports of something in the woods. Something that was stealing the sheep, and putting fear in the hearts of the dragons. Even now Toothless was uneasy, every muscle in his body tense, ready to turn around and run. He heard Astrid call out his name and he turned his attention to her and Stormfly. She was hovering, pointing to something on the ground. He joined her and looked down. Something enormous had torn it's way through the trees. There was a path ripped clean through. Trees were snapped like twigs or burnt to the ground.

'Hiccup? What could have done this?'

'I don't know Astrid. I really don't know. Let's follow the path, see where it goes, but be careful.'

She nodded and urged Stormfly forward. The dragon went reluctantly. Toothless followed, not very enthusiastic. Hiccup wondered what it could be that had his closest friend so scared. That had every dragon in the village scared. After following the path for a while they found where whatever made it had landed. A circular clearing where the ground was scorched so bad smoke was still rising, even though the earth had cooled down. They could see sheep bones and burnt wool on the ground, accompanied by enormous claw prints. Toothless shook his head. Hiccup knew he was afraid.

'Easy bud, it's going to be alright.'

'Hey Hiccup, any ideas yet?'

'No. But we really should...'

Before he could finish his sentence, the silence was broken by a shriek so loud it hurt his ears. This is when Toothless and Stormfly decided they had enough. Both dragons turned around and ran. They flew as fast as they could, away from that place. Toothless was much faster than Stormfly, and reached Berk long before the Nadder could. It was clear that every dragon on Berk had heard that shriek, and they were clearly terrified. As soon as he landed, the vikings came to him for answers. He couldn't offer any. It took Astrid to finally free him of the men and he went looking for Toothless. He found him in his house, curled up in a corner, his head under his wing, clearly hiding for an evil only known to dragons.

'Hey bud, it's okay now. You're save here.'

Toothless made a muffled, whimpering sound. A sound Hiccup had never heard before and it scared him. He crawled under Toothless' wing, taking the dragon's head in his lap, stroking his nose, whispering reassuring words. He hated seeing Toothless like this. It took some time for the dragon to calm down enough to uncurl, so that Hiccup could take the saddle of.

'It's gonna be alright bud. Nothing will harm you as long as I'm here. I promise.'

Despite the calm night, Toothless refused to go outside, so Hiccup brought him his fish inside, remembering him to the fact this would be the only time he did it. After he had made sure that Toothless was okay, he went to look for Astrid. When he found her she was standing outside the dragon den, where the dragons slept. She looked up when he joined her.

'Where's Toothless?' she asked, surprised to see him without the black dragon in tow.

'He's too scared to leave the house. I've never seen him like this. Something scared him good.'

'Stormfly too,' Astrid said, 'in fact, all the dragons are scared of something. We have to find out what that is, Hiccup.'

'Yes we should. But I don't know if Toothless is going to be happy about that.'

But the next morning Toothless woke him up just as energetic and enthusiastic as he did every morning. Nothing in his behavior reminded them of what happened the day before. After breakfast, Hiccup called Astrid and Valka in a close meeting. They decided that Valka and Cloudjumper would go with them this time. Toothless was eager to go flying again, but got a little nervous when they went towards the island where they found the tracks. The presence of Cloudjumper seemed to calm him a little though, as if he knew that the big dragon would never let anything happen to him. Just as much as Hiccup would look after him. They risked landing this time, because Cloudjumper stayed in the air, watching for the big something that had made the marks on the ground. Now that they were down, they could really see just how big it was.

'Can't it be one of those Bewilderbeasts?' Astrid suggested.

'No,' Hiccup and Valka said at the same time. 'Bewilderbeasts don't fly,' Valka explained, 'they can't.'

'The water is their home,' Hiccup continued, 'this came from the sky.'

'Okay, so what is it then?'

'I don't know... what is it bud?'

Toothless had nudged him, restless and clearly uncomfortable on the island. They left, with more questions that answers.

The rest of the day went relatively normal. The dragons weren't especially agitated, Toothless wanted to fly some more, just as long as they went nowhere near that island, and the day went by quickly. After dinner, Hiccup went to find Valka. He found her standing on one of the many bridges in Berk, Cloudjumper was somewhere on the rocks. He joined her and they watched the sunset together. After a while Hiccup broke the silence.

'You know what it is, don't you.'

It wasn't a question and she sighed. Cloudjumper shifted on his rock, feeling her change in emotion just as Toothless felt Hiccup's.

'No, not really.'

'But you know something.' Hiccup insisted. He needed to know.

'All I know is that there is a second race as old as the Bewilderbeasts. A cold, dark race. The tirans of the dragon world. You fought and defeated one six years ago. It has been around for a very long time, but it's name has been forgotten. The dragons will not speak of it and it took me a long time to get Cloudjumper to tell me. What I know, Hiccup, is if that thing is truly here, the dragons are in danger, and because of that we are in danger.'

'But if they are as old as the Bewilderbeasts, don't they know what it is? And how to fight it?'

'Possibly, but haven't you already killed one?'

'Yeah, and it cost me my leg remember. It nearly cost both me and Toothless our lives. I want to avoid dying if possible.'

'But still, where would you find a Bewilderbeast. The great king from our nest was killed by Drago Bloodfest's beast.'

'Yes... and then Toothless defeated him and he fled... what means he's still out there somewhere. Which means we can go look for him.'

'The ocean is a very big place. Where would you begin to look Hiccup. Just concentrate on your people. Keeping them safe should be your priority right now.'

'It is,' Hiccup said, 'getting rid of that thing that keeps stealing all our food and sheep and getting us dangerously close to a food shortage coming winter is protecting my people. From starving to death.

He turned around. Toothless, feeling they would go home now, came down from his perch next to Cloudjumper.

'You are more like your father than you realize. You remind me of him when we were younger.'

'No mom. I'm nothing like my father.'

'You are in your heart. I'm sure you'll do what is best.'

'I hope so,' Hiccup mumbled, but the only one to hear was Toothless as they walked home together.

They spend the next three days looking for Drago's Beast, but it was nowhere to be found. After the third day Hiccup was sitting on one of the cliffs, throwing rocks into the ocean, Toothless lay behind him, watching over the water. Hiccup was feeling kind of hopeless. It had turned out in nothing. Granted, the ocean was big and they only searched for three days, but still he had hoped to at least find a _sign_ of the Beast, just the smallest. They hadn't and he threw more and more rocks as the anger rose. He felt like a failure. He failed to protect his people. He failed to make his father proud. He failed everyone. Suddenly there was a very loud _splash _and he looked up in surprise. Then he realized Toothless had thrown a boulder in the ocean, looking at him with big, questioning eyes and Hiccup smiled. It did make him feel better. He sighed and got up. He would try again tomorrow.

'He went out alone?!' Astrid shouted in disbelief. She could not believe Hiccup would do such a thing. Especially with that... _thing _out there. 'And you let him?'

'He is old enough to look after himself Astrid.'

'Well, I will go find him,' Astrid said as she walked towards Stormfly.

'Then I will go with you,' Valka said and with that Cloudjumper picked her up. 'Saver to go together.'

They had been flying for an hour now, no sign of the little black dragon or his rider. They were about to turn back when they heard a shriek, followed by a scream which was very clearly not from a dragon. They looked at each other, knowing they thought the same. They raced towards the sound. What they saw chilled them to the bone. Toothless and Hiccup were under attack from a giant dragon, similar to the one they killed years ago. Toothless kept blasting it with fireballs, but it didn't have any effect on the giant beast. It spew fire at them, but Toothless was too fast en avoided the flames quite easily. Astrid and Valka were stunned, their dragons frozen. Then, while twirling to avoid being hit by the fire, Toothless was hit by one of the enormous claws of the dragon. It not only tore his wing, but also tore through the leather straps holding the saddle and holding Hiccup on his back. Because of the tears in his wing he couldn't fly anymore, and Hiccup had broken his arm when one of the talons had hit him, so they were falling towards the water. Astrid was the first to come to her senses, realizing that she had to do something. She drove Stormfly forwards, diving after Hiccup and Toothless. She wasn't fast enough though, and they hit the water, immediately swallowed by the waves. She was frantically looking around the waves, totally forgetting about the big dragon that had done this. She suddenly remembered when she heard a shriek above her. She turned around in the saddle, seeing Cloudjumper engage the dragon, ultimately chasing it away. Her heart was racing when she turned her attention to the waves again. No Toothless. No Hiccup. Then, to her relief, she saw Hiccup surface, screaming the name of his dragon. She pushed Stormfly downward and the Nadder claws gently grasped the boy from the water. He kept screaming for Toothless, his right arm bleeding and clearly broken, fighting the Nadder's grasp. Valka urged Astrid to go back to Berk, while she and Cloudjumper kept looking for Toothless. They didn't find him. It appeared that the sea had claimed the young dragon and was determined not to give him up again. They returned to Berk, hours after the attack. Astrid was sitting outside Hiccup's house, trying her best not to cry, jumping up when she saw Valka and Cloudjumper return, soon realizing they had not found Toothless, and her expression grew grim. Some one had to tell Hiccup. Some one had to go in and tell him that his best friend was not coming back.


	2. Chapter 2 Taken away

Chapter 2 Taken away

They had decided that it was best if Valka brought him the news he definitely did not want to hear. It had resulted in screaming, shouting, hysterical crying and a lot of tears. Astrid had heard every word Hiccup had screamed at his mother and she had run. She had fetched Stormfly and had taken of, unable to hear Hiccup's pain any longer. She was now sitting in an hidden cove, Stormfly nudging her back, clearly worried about her rider. She wiped the tears from here eyes and stood up, embracing the Nadder in a tight hug. The sun had begun to set, she needed to go back.

The next few days were horrible. Hiccup refused to leave the house, he even refused to come out of bed. Whenever Astrid, or anyone else went to visit him, to try and cheer him up a little, he'd either turn his back on them or scream at them until they left. Even Valka could not comfort him.

When he finally did come out, there was only one place he went to. The place on the cliff where he and Toothless used to throw rocks, or boulders, into the ocean below. A week past like this, Hiccup was either in bed or at the cliff, barely ate and clearly cried himself to sleep every night. He was getting thinner, and Astrid was worried about him. Hiccup had never been as big as the other vikings, and with him losing weight like that... She decided to do something about it. She knew that no dragon could ever replace Toothless, but she could at least try to get him to eat. He was 21 years old for Thor's sake, and he was acting like a baby! She would talk some sense into him tomorrow, she thought while looking at the lonely figure at the edge of the cliff. Right now she was exhausted from running the village all by herself. Yet another reason why she wanted Hiccup to act normal again. Well, more than he did now.

But the next morning Hiccup was nowhere to be found. She went to his house first, knocked and then waited a while. She wanted to give him some time to get out of bed, put on his prosthetic leg and his clothes. When nothing had happened after five or so minutes, she knocked again, louder this time, and when nothing happened after the third time she went in. the house was empty, the bed was empty, Hiccup was not there. She frowned, walking towards the cliff where he had been last night. No Hiccup. She then set out to find Valka. Maybe she had seen her son. She hadn't. Soon enough the entire village was looking for Hiccup, Fishlegs and Snotlout even went out on their dragons to see if Hiccup had gone to some of the other islands, or maybe the place where he befriended Toothless, but they came back with empty hands and no news. By noon Astrid was panicking. Hiccup was nowhere to be found. She was worried about what could have happened to him, but more about what he could have done to himself. His emotional state had been so fragile since he lost Toothless, what if he had done something to himself? Tried to kill himself maybe. Part of her said that he never would do that, but part of her wasn't so sure. When she was absolutely sure he wasn't anywhere on Berk, she send out search parties to search the other islands. But they found no trace of Hiccup. He was nowhere to be found.

It was near midnight when he decided to go home. He walked slowly, new tears rolling down his cheeks. He wiped them away angrily. He never thought a dragon would mean so much to him. He stopped when he heard a familiar whistling sound, the sound of an approaching Night Fury.

'Toothless?'

He called out into the night, but no response came. He sighed. It must have been his imagination. But the next moment something grabbed him and lifted him from the ground. He screamed in surprise when he saw the light of Berk disappear quickly.

'Oh gods, put me down this isn't funny.'

The dragon kept flying, not responding. Hiccup clawed at it's chest, suddenly feeling a leather strap. He followed it and then felt a handle. He frowned, but grabbed it, then pulled it. It didn't budge. He could probably use it to pull himself on the dragon, if it would let him. His right arm was pinned and started to hurt badly so he gave it a try. To his surprise the dragon helpt him, giving him a push as he climbed on it's back. By the time he sat he was completely exhausted. He hadn't slept well the past week and climbing a dragon with just one hand had been too much. He fell asleep, on the dragons back, as it continued to fly to where ever.


	3. Chapter 3 The journey

I would like to thank everyone for the favs and the reviews and the follows... I did not expect so many people would like my story. Also, chapter 2 and 3 have been short, but 4 will be longer again. I realize I have been uploading rather fast, but I don't know if I can keep that up. I will do my very best though. Enjoy!

Chapter 3 The journey

He jolted awake and realized he was still on the back of an unknown... Night Fury? It was definitely a Night Fury, but when he looked at the tail and saw it intact, he knew for sure it wasn't Toothless. He was taken by surprise. Could there be more than just this one? He looked down at the handle he had his left hand clenched around. The harness the dragon was wearing was little more than a few leather straps. He discovered some loops clearly meant to put his legs through, so he did. He then looked around but all he could see was the ocean below and the clouds above. There was no land in sight. He frowned, confused. It took him a while to realize he was still wearing his flight suit, with the little compass on his arm. The problem was that it was on his right arm, and his right arm was broken. He managed to figure out they were heading south, fast.

'Eehh 'scuse me, where are we going?'

The dragon answered with a soft growl which could mean anything from none of you business to shut up, lunch. He sighed. That wasn't very helpful. He looked down on the water again. Small waves caused by a gentle breeze were playing across the surface. Below it he could se the darks shades of the Scouldron and Thunderdrum dragons. Their back fins breaking through the surface, scattering the playing waves and replacing them with bigger ones. He could't help but smile. They continued flying through the day and they were still flying when the sun began to set. There was still no land in sight and he wondered how far one would be able to fly without reaching the edges of the world. He yawned. Only now did he feel how sore his body had become. He had never been on the back of a dragon this long before. As the night grew closer, he realized that something in the ocean below was giving off a strange greenish glow. When he squinted to look closer, he realized that there were fish down there that could generate their own light. He stared in amazement. Soon he began to feel how tired he was and he fell asleep again.

When he woke up this time, it was the middle of the night. He must have been asleep for just a few hours. He blinked then rubbed his eyes. It took him a moment to remember where he was, but when he did he looked around again. His jaw dropped. The water was so calm the stars were reflected perfectly, making the horizon disappear. Water and sky seemingly just blended together.

'Wow,' he whispered, 'it's so beautiful.'

The dragon cooed softly, a sound he knew from Toothless and he felt his heart break all over again. Toothless. It should be him taking him to this place. He looked at the water again. It was so still. The water around Berk was always moving. Crashing waves upon the shore, or dragons catching fish. This place was so out of this world he lacked the words. The glowing fish seemed to move through the sky, and the silhouette of the dragon seemed to glide across the water. He didn't realize he was smiling from ear to ear when the dragon shot a fire blast into the sky, lighting it up for just a few seconds. Later that night, near morning, fog started rolling in, and soon enough, he couldn't see anything. A shiver ran down his spine. It reminded him to much about the fog around the dragons nest six years ago. The Night Fury turned his head a little, feeling his rider get uneasy and suddenly shot straight up and out above the clouds. From there Hiccup had an amazing few of the sunrise, which colored the clouds with pink, yellow, orange and a flaming red. Up here the sky was blue. The clouds below him looked a big pile of fluff he could jump into. His stomach growled and he realized he hadn't eaten in days.

'Sorry,' he said when the dragon perked up an earflap, 'it's just my stomach. I'm hungry I guess.'

He yelped in surprise as the dragon suddenly ducked under the clouds and towards the ocean. That's when he saw the strangest fish he had ever seen. Sure, he had seen fish before, plenty of it, but these fish were _flying_. Admitted, it wasn't the flying like he knew from dragons or birds, they jumped out of the water and used wing like fins to shoot over the water before falling back into it, but still. He had never seen fish this strange before. The dragon suddenly swerved, catching one of the fish from the air, and, while regaining altitude, offered it to Hiccup.

'Eehh no thanks.' He said, remembering the time when Toothless had made him eat a raw fish. Well, one bite of it. The dragon persisted and Hiccup took the fish, only to discover it wasn't raw at all, but cooked in the fires in the dragons mouth. He then devoured it hungrily, leaving only the bones for the sea below. The dragon plucked a few more fish out of the ocean, offered one more to Hiccup before eating himself. He tried to find a more relaxed position on the dragons back, but couldn't. He had been on the dragons back for two days and two nights now, and the ocean never seemed to end. They were still flying south, at the same speed. The dragon seemed to have an endless amount of energy available. By the time the sun had begun to set on the second day he suddenly saw something in the distance. He sat up, curious. Rocks. The things he saw were rocks. He had never been so happy to see rocks. He clenched onto the handles as the dragon swerved through the narrow, gate like rock formations rising high above the waves. The setting sun in his face gave the sea an orange glow, like it was on fire.


	4. Chapter 4 Night Fury Island

As promised, a longer chapter. Thanks for the support (again), it really keeps me motivated to keep writing. Thanks for the reviews, I love those. Let me know what you think!

Chapter 4 Night Fury Island

He slowly opened his eyes. He was surrounded by softness and warmth and he curled up in it, until he realized he had been on a dragons back the past two days. He looked around the room. It was a small room, clearly carved from the rocks. The ceiling was rounded and there was no clear line between the walls. It looked a lot like a dragons nest. He sat up, legs over the edge only to realize his prosthetic was missing. He looked around in a slight panic seeing it close by, just like his clothes. He went to dress himself, which was difficult with one arm. He now noticed his right arm had been wrapped again. When he was finally dressed he looked around the room one more time, almost regretting leaving the bed. He opened the door and stepped outside. His jaw dropped all the way to the ground. It was a city, an ancient city, and it was _filled _with Night Fury's. He saw them napping in the sun in piles, taking off with their riders or coming back with mouths full of fish. He stood frozen, too stunned by the sight to react. The people he saw, both male and female, were wearing some sort of suit similar to his own, while every one seemed to have customized it. He didn't even hear his name being called until the man was right next to him.

'Hey, good to see you awake. How do you feel?'

Hiccup looked up. The man looking at him was tall. He had short black hair that did it's best to defy gravity in every single way. On the right side of it was a longer braid with feathers on the end. But wat struck Hiccup the most were the mans eyes. His right eye was green, like his own, but his left was as blue as the winter sky. Under his left eye there was a small scar, possibly dragon related. He was dressed in a similar fashion to the others Hiccup had seen so far, riding the dragons or otherwise engaged in some dragon related activity.

'I... I'm okay. I guess. Who are you?'

The man smiled. 'Where are my manners. My name is Wrenlou, you can call me Wren. You are Hiccup, are you not?'

'Yes. Where am I?'

Wrenlou smiled. 'Welcome to Night Fury Island,' he said, 'and welcome to The city of dragons.'

'N.. Night Fury Island?' Hiccup stuttered, completely taken by surprise.'

'Yes. The home of all the Night Fury's as you can see. Well, most of them. We had no idea one of them had left until we heard the stories about you and Toothless. Amazing. Truly amazing that you managed to tame him as an adult.'

'Thanks...' Hiccup said. He didn't want to talk about it. Not surrounded by Night Fury's while his own... he quickly changed the subject. 'Was that your dragon? The one that brought me here?'

'Oh no, that was Moonchaser, my brothers dragon. Snowflake would have been easily seen.'

'How do you mean?'

'Well, she's white,' Wrenlou said with a gesture to a place above Hiccup's head. When he looked up he saw the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. It was a Night Fury. It was every bit a Night Fury, but she was white. Completely white. She was looking at him with a green and a blue eye.

'Wow,' he whispered, 'she's beautiful. And your eyes match!'

'Yeah, lucky coincidence.'

'But why have you brought me here?' Hiccup asked while trying to follow Wrenlou through the mass of dragons and riders and many other things.

'We were send out as an envoy to your village, to meet with you. And with we I mean me and Snowflake. We saw what happened to you and Toothless.'

Hiccup stopped, trying his best to swallow back the tears he felt coming.

'Hey, it's okay. We fished him up and brought him here. He's...'

But before he could finish his sentence he was nearly jumped by Hiccup.

'He's alive? Where is he? I want to see him. Is he okay?'

Wrenlou laughed. 'Yes he's alive. And I was just on my way to bring you to him now. He wing is torn badly, and it's broken. Some cuts but that's no problem. Look, cuts and tears and broken bones I can fix, but he refuses to eat. It's not unheard of. Most injured dragons will only take food from their rider. But if he doesn't eat, he doesn't heal. That's why I send Moonchaser out to get you. Only you can save him now Hiccup.'

They stopped before a large building that stood aside from the others. 'Okay, before we go in there are a few rules I want you to follow at all times okay?'

Hiccup nodded. He couldn't wait to see Toothless again, not after he thought he had lost him for good.

'Stay calm, no sudden movements or sounds. It could frighten the dragons in there. There are not a lot, thank the gods, but still. You can't go into any of the other dragons dens. Some dragons get violent when they are injured, trust me, I know. And you can't stay the night. They need their rest as much as you do. Get it?'

Hiccup nodded. 'Yes I think so.'

Wrenlou pushed one of the doors open and let him in. 'Here, take this.' He handed him a fish and gestured to follow him. Hiccup followed him as silently as his metal leg allowed him. He couldn't help the _clank_ every time it hit the ground. They walked past rows of stable like constructions, most of them empty.

'I kept Toothless separated from the others for two reasons,' Wrenlou said, 'the first being that he isn't used to other Night Fury's and the second that his injuries are so severe. In here.'

Hiccup went through the open door, entering a second, smaller corridor. Unwittingly pressing the fish against his chest Hiccup followed Wrenlou, until he stopped at a door on the right.

'Remember, no sudden moves or sounds. And be gentle, he is in pain.'

After saying that he opened the door, revealing a small room where the ground was covered with something that looked like a mix of straw and something else. And in the middle of that room...

'Toothless!'

Hiccup dropped the fish as the dragon lifted his head and cooed softly. He fell next to him stroking his nose, almost crying. Toothless seemed ecstatic to see his rider again, but when he moved to much he whimpered in pain. Hiccup looked his dragon over. Toothless' right wing had been splinted and wrapped close to his body, so that he would not be able to move it. Two gashes on his side had not been bandaged, but they had been stitched. Hiccup wrapped his arm around his dragons neck and held him close.

'Hiccup? You can stay as long as you like. I will come and get you if night falls. Be gentle, okay? And get him to eat that fish. All of it.'

Hiccup nodded, too thrilled to say anything. For a long time after Wrenlou had left, they just sat there, holding each other close, then Toothless broke the hug and sniffed Hiccups arm.

'It's going to be alright bud. It will heal.' He stroke the dragons nose. 'You have no idea how much I missed you bud, or how worried I was about you. I thought I'd lost you.'

It took him a while before he remembered the fish. He stood up to go and get it, but Toothless turned away from it.

'Toothless, you must eat something bud.'

But Toothless refused. And when he kept refusing Hiccup proceeded to cut the fish up into little pieces which he then fed to Toothless. The dragon accepted these little pieces and before long the fish was gone. He then stayed with Toothless, whispering to the dragon and stroking his nose.

He hadn't even realized he had fallen asleep next to Toothless until Wrenlou came to wake him up.

'Time to go Hiccup. You can come back tomorrow. Come on.'

'Let me say goodbye to Toothless first.'

'Very well. I'll wait outside.'

Hiccup watched Wrenlou walk away, then turned to Toothless. 'I have to go now bud, but I promise that I will be back tomorrow.'

Toothless cooed softly and pressed his nose against Hiccup's hand. It was hard to leave the dragon, but he knew that it was the right thing to do. He softly closed the door and walked towards the bigger front door. Wrenlou was not far away when he closed it.

'You okay?'

'It's hard to leave him like that.' Hiccup said.

'I know. But he's in good hands. Taking care of Night Fury's is what I do best. He will be fine and you'll be able to see him again tomorrow. Get some rest. You need it.'

Hiccup nodded and started making his way towards the room he had been in before.

'Wrenlou? Thank you.'


	5. Chapter 5 The old city

So, I managed to finish another chapter for you guys. A little more about Wrenlou. More will be revealed! Enjoy!

Chapter 5 The old city

'Can't sleep?'

Hiccup looked up. Wrenlou was just closing the door to the healing den. It had been a week since Hiccup had arrived at Night Fury Island and every night he was so worried about Toothless he hardly slept. He ended up outside the building every time. He shook his head.

'I thought no one was supposed to visit after dark.' He said.

'I'm not visiting,' Wrenlou said sitting down next to him, 'I was checking up on Toothless.'

'How is he?'

'He's asleep. He will be fine, Hiccup. May take some time, but he will.'

They sat silently for a while. 'Are you hungry?' Wrenlou asked, eyeing Hiccup's small frame.

'Yes. I... I guess so.'

'Come on. Let's get some dinner. Or possibly breakfast. Whatever.'

Hiccup followed Wrenlou to one of the other buildings. Wrenlou told him to wait outside, which he did. A few moments later Wrenlou was back with a bag.

'Follow me,' he said, 'There is something I want to show you.'

Hiccup followed him without a word. Wrenlou led him to an older part of the city, clearly abandoned long ago. The buildings had fallen in disrepair, some had collapsed completely.

'There were once much more riders,' Wrenlou said without turning around, 'But the Night fury's numbers have been dwindling for years. There are fewer eggs every time. So we had to abandon part of the city. It grew to big for us.'

Hiccup looked around. He could almost feel the joy and energy that once lived between the crumbling walls of the buildings. Some of then showed scorch marks, like Night Fury blasts had taken down the walls. He almost felt sad for the city. It lay abandoned, forgotten, while it had been such a beautiful place. High arches reached over the road, twisted and curling designs still adorned some of the walls. Traces of paint betrayed the presence of paintings long ago. He stopped in front of a wall. On it he could vaguely make out the head of a Night Fury. A painting long forgotten. He heard Wrenlou call his name and reluctantly he turned away from the wonder what it had depicted. He looked around. The buildings here had not been very different from the ones that still stood around the centre plaza in the inhabited part of the city. Trees had grown through houses, moss had covered almost every wall. There were even flowers peeking through the stones of the road.

'Watch your step. The road is filled with holes here.'

Hiccup looked down. The road was almost non-existing. There were few paving stones left, but it was mostly gravel and rubble, and a lot of potholes filled with water. He carefully followed Wrenlou, who was now walking towards a tower.

'This is the only outpost still standing. And the highest vantage point around. Can you climb with that leg?'

Hiccup nodded. He looked at the tower. It didn't look very stable. Part of the wall had come down, the gate was rusty and the door was laying on the ground.

'Relax. I didn't mean the tower. Come on. Over here.'

Hiccup looked up. Until now they had used the light of the moon, but now Wrenlou had lit a torch.

'Watch you step. It can be slippery.'

The path was narrow, steep and covered in moss. Hiccup's metal leg slipped twice, both times Wrenlou caught him before he fell. Gradually the road leveled out and they reached a narrow bridge.

'Wait, we're gonna cross that?'

Hiccup pointed at the bridge. The stones were crumbling, parts of the bridge were missing.

'Yes we are. Don't worry. It's safe as long as you stay close behind me. Luckily it's a full moon tonight.'

Carefully the two boys moved across the bridge. A few stones broke loose and fell into the dark water below. When they reached the other side, Wrenlou led Hiccup over a small path. Here and there the paving stones were visible, but nature had clearly taken over. This place had been deserted long before the city itself was.

'We're here.'

They stepped out onto a slab of stone high above the water. It reached out over the edge, like someone had put it there like you put a plate on the table and try to balance it on the edge of it. But that was not what made Hiccup holds his breath. The trees around the place were _glowing. N_ot the ever changing glowing of Changewing eggs, but a more intense glow. Greenish, yellow like glowing.

'What is that.' He gasped. 'It's beautiful.'

'Fireflies.' Wrenlou answered. 'This is Firefly rock. Nobody comes here, mostly because they don't want to risk their lives on the bridge, but as long as that thing stands, I will walk here. Come here.'

Hiccup joined Wrenlou on the edge of the stone slab. The moon was so bright they didn't need the fire to see. The stars were reflecting in the water, blurring the line between sky and see. Scattered across the ocean were islands, some little more that a rock sticking it's head above water. To the left there was a bigger island. Hiccup could vaguely see the lights of another city on the rocks that lifted it high above the water.

'Is that a city there?'

'Yes. The city of Light. That's were all the non-dragon riders life. There was a time where we outnumbered them. Now it's the other way around. Come, let's sit down.'

They sat down on the edge of the rock, legs swinging above the water far below. Hiccup didn't say anything for a long time. He just sat there, staring at the sky, the sea, the islands, the city so far away, it's lights almost calling him.

'We all lived there. We were all born there.' Wrenlou sounded... sad. 'My parents are still there.' He looked at Hiccup and smiled. 'It can be lonely in Dragoncity. Sometimes I just need to get away from it all. That's when I come here. I can see home from here.'

'Don't you ever go back? I mean, you never see your parents again?'

'Dragons aren't allowed in Lightcity. The streets are to narrow and the plaza's to busy. It wasn't build for them. My parents come here sometimes, but not often. They have no business here. I have my brother though. Helps a lot. And Snowflake of course. Anyway, let's save the sob stories for later. I brought food and you said you were hungry. And honestly, I am really hungry myself. Let's eat first, you can ask questions later.'

Hiccup nodded and turned his eyes to the city in the distance again. He could almost hear the people. Suddenly, he missed his own people. Valka, Astrid, Fishlegs, even Snotlout and the twins. Cloudjumper. He sighed. He wondered when he would see them again. When would Toothless be able to fly him home?


	6. Chapter 6 Answering questions

Once again I manage to keep up, this time thanks to a long journey in the train. Next chapter will feature Toothless again. Enjoy

Chapter 6 Answering questions

After they had finished eating, they stayed on the rock. The fireflies lights slowly died and the eerie greenish glow was replaced by the first light of the rising sun. the kind of light where you know the sun is coming, but it's still hiding behind the horizon, as if it were afraid to come out. Wrenlou looked at Hiccup. The other boy was staring out over the ocean, trying his best to avoid Wrenlou's gaze.

'Okay, you've got questions.'

Hiccup looked up, straight into Wrenlou's eyes. He nodded. He did have questions. Tons of them.

'Fire away.'

Hiccup thought for a moment. 'Why didn't you bring him to Berk? It would have been easier.'

'It would have killed him. You see, that particular dragon has figured out that he can eat a kind of poisonous frog without dieing. And he has discovered that the poison stays in his saliva. He licks his claws, making them poisonous. The poison needs about four, five days to really take effect, but you know how long the journey is. It would have taken Snowflake at least a week to fly back here, get the antidote and fly back to Berk. Toothless didn't have that much time. I did consider bringing him back, though. He just wouldn't have made it.'

'What was that thing?'

'I believe you refer to it as a Red Death.'

'But how do you call it?'

Wrenlou looked at Hiccup for a while, then suddenly looked away. He sighed, clearly struggling with the question. Hiccup knew the Read Death had another name, he just thought every one had forgotten. But Wrenlou knew. He knew and he didn't want to tell him. He changed the subject.

'Why is she white?'

'Snowflake?' Wrenlou said, clearly relieved that Hiccup had turned in a different road. 'I don't know. Nobody does. Her egg was the same colour as the others. Just a mutation.'

'Pretty cool mutation.'

Wrenlou smiled. 'Yes it is.'

It was silent for a while. Hiccup was thinking about what question to ask next. He had so many spinning in his mind.

'How old are you?'

'Well, that's personal.' Wrenlou looked at Hiccup. 'I'm 22. I've been a dragon rider here in the city for almost five years.'

'So, how did you end up with Snowflake? I mean, why is she with you?'

'She choose me. You see Hiccup, Night Fury's chose the riders. Every five years we have something we call the Choosing. It's where the newly hatched dragons chose their riders.'

'Why every five years? And how does that choosing work? I mean, how can a dragon know how to pick his rider?'

Alright that's a lot of questions at once. Let me think... Why every five years. Well, that's easy. Night Fury eggs take four years to hatch. And after that the dragons will not lay eggs for a year while taking care of their young. So they lay eggs every five years. And how the choosing works... I don't know how a dragons knows who his rider will be, but some dragons know their riders before they are born. Every five years we place the five eggs we have in a cave and 20 to 30 teens between 15 and 20 take a chance. Because we have so few eggs, there will always be some disappointment.'

'I can image. Why only five?'

'We don't breed Night Fury's ourself. Hatching a Night Fury egg without an adult Night Fury to do it is very tricky. The temperature needs to be perfect, or the eggs die. The eggs we have are given to us from the wild Night Fury's. The next Choosing will be in four weeks by the way, so you will be able to see it. It's the only time we get to see our parents really. The entire village comes to Crystal Cove.'

'Crystal Cove?'

'Yes. The largest cave on the island. That's were the wild Night Fury's live.'

'Why is it called Night Fury Island? There's more than one.'

'There are 38 to be exact. Only three big ones though. This one, which is the biggest, that one,' he pointed to the island with Lightcity on it, 'and some barren rock that way. The rest are remnants of islands. It was named Night Fury island because our ancestors found this island first and found it full of Night Fury's. They weren't very original in names I'm afraid.'

Hiccup chuckled. 'Neither were we,' He said, 'we have Dragon Island, that's were most of the dragons live, 'Changewing Island, that's were the changewings live and a bunch of others like that.'

They sat silently again, bot staring over the sea where the sun now shone over the horizon. Surprisingly little time had past. Or maybe the sun was just lazy today. Then, finally, he asked the question that had been burning on his mind.

'Why are the Night Fury's dieing out?'

Wrenlou pulled his right leg up and wrapped his arms around it, his fingers twisting and twirling a stick.

'Oh Hiccup, why don't you ask questions I know the answer to. I really have no idea. There just less and less eggs every time. It's not that the weather is affecting the temperature. The dragon mothers build nests that they light on fire. Then they watch that fire for four years. They don't do it alone, the males are very helpful. They also hunt while the females watch the eggs. It's a mystery.'

'I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that.'

'It's okay. You're curious. And why wouldn't you be. Asking questions isn't always a bad thing. So spit it out. You're not done asking yet.'

'How old is Snowflake?'

'That's easy. She's ten.'

'But...' Hiccup frowned. 'You said that you had been here for five years.'

'Night Fury are considered adults when they are five years old. Until they are, the dragons and their riders to be stay in Learners bay. After five years they take the oath and are welcomed into the city.'

'Okay... but then it still doesn't add up. If she's ten and you're 22, then she must have chosen you when you were... twelve years old!'

'Thirteen actually, and yes, that's not how it normally goes. But in case you hadn't noticed, abnormal dragon.'

'Did they make an exception for you or something? Because you said that every one between 15 and 20 got to try.'

'They didn't, she did. Her egg was the last to hatch, and it took seven hours. And when it finally hatched she was the smallest hatchling ever. But man, she was determined. She took one look at the teens still sitting there and turned around. Me and my parents were sitting in the front row because it was my brothers turn. He was second to be chosen. She walked to me in a straight line. I remember silently begging her to turn around, to go away, but she didn't. She climbed up on my lap and curled up. The next week was horrible. The questions, the people doubting me. Doubting her. But it could not be undone. When a Night Fury choses it's rider, it's permanent. Can't be changed. Luckily my brother was there to support me.'

'I know how you feel. I was always the failure. I always broke everything. Now I'm chief of Berk.'

'Wait, chief? I abducted the chief? Oh man, I'm sorry.'

'It's okay. Astrid really runs the village anyway. She's beter at it.'

'Who's Astrid?'

'The one that will probably want to kill you when we finally get back to Berk.' Hiccup smiled. 'I'll protect you, don't worry.'

'I think I can handle it, but thank you.'

Wrenlou sighed. The sun had finally made it above the horizon, a giant, orange fireball illuminating the ocean. The clouds were painted with orange and red, and finally the night was chased away. He tossed the twig into the ocean and picked up a new one.

'Wrenlou?'

'Yes, Hiccup?'

'I need to know. What was that thing that attacked me? Please, I really need to know. It's still out there. And you seem to know it. That particular dragon I mean.'

'The Red Death? Yes I know it. Up close and personal you could say. I really don't want to talk about it. I can tell you where it came from.'

'It has an island?'

'They have an island. A really big island. Fly a day in that direction and you'll reach it. I strongly advice against it though. Bad idea.'

'There's more than one? How many are there?'

'I don't know. We don't go there. Could be several dozens, several hundreds, who knows. All I know is this: if the Night Fury do die out, there is nothing to keep them from flooding the world and taking over every single island. Including Berk.'

'Have you tried attacking them there?'

'Are you crazy? There are god knows how many of those beasts out there. No rider or dragon with a little common sense will try attacking them there.'

Hiccup bit his lip. He still had questions. He was very well aware of Wrenlou's eyes on him, but tried to ignore it. There was one question he just had to ask. He turned to face Wrenlou, but the question must have been visible in his eyes, because Wrenlou sighed and stood up. He walked back a few steps.

'We were attacked by it, Snowflake and I. It was a lot smaller then. They grow extremely fast, did you know that?' Wrenlou crossed his arms as if he was trying to protect his chest. 'It nearly killed us. We were lucky to get out with our lives. That's all I have to say about it.'

'Why did it go to Berk?, I mean, if it came from here, why didn't it stay?'

'And do what? It wants to dominate other dragons. There are too many Night Fury's here. Too many riders. Why do you think it went after you and Toothless? It was trying to eliminate a threat.'

'Well, in a way it worked. Toothless and I are no longer on Berk.'

'But you will be again. And you won't be alone. Snowstorm and I will come with you.'

Wrenlou walked back to the edge and stood next to Hiccup for a while. Together they watched the sea. In the distance they could hear the voices of fishermen. They couldn't see the boats, they were probably behind one of the rocky islands.

'Let's go back. It's time to see how Toothless is doing. And I really need to take a look at your arm again.'

Wrenlou picked up the bag while Hiccup got back on his feet. Well, foot.

'I have question for you,' Wrenlou said while they were walking back. Hiccup looked at him. 'What happened to Toothless' tail? I have seen injuries before but that... that doesn't just happen.'

'Eeeehhh well, eemm, you know... I shot him down. Six years ago. When we were still at war and I was trying to prove that I could kill dragons. But hey, it's okay. He couldn't just leave it. He had to get me back.'

'Is that how you lost your leg?'

'Well, he was saving my life. But it made us even.'

They were silent when crossing the bridge. It wasn't even that high above the water now that he saw it in daylight.

'But how does he fly? A dragon can't fly with half a tail.'

'I made him a new one. I control it from his back. Wait, you didn't find that when you fished him up?'

'No. There wasn't much left of the saddle Hiccup. I'll introduce you to the blacksmith tomorrow. He can help you build Toothless a new tail.'

Hiccup smiled. Suddenly he saw the bright side of things again. Wrenlou was really trying to help him get home as soon as possible, while teaching him as much about Night Fury's as he could in the meantime. They passed the tower, again, not as scary looking during the day, and walked into the old city. They were halfway through it when they heard a scream. They looked at each other and started running.


	7. Chapter 7 Meeting Snowflake

Another short chapter. The next one will be longer I hope. Let me know what you think!

Chapter 7 Meeting Snowflake

The scream had come from a Night Fury. The dragon was in the middle of the plaza, wounded. His rider was trying to calm him. When they had arrived, they had been approached by a man who told them that the dragon and his rider had been attacked by Changewings. Wrenlou had taken a look at the dragons injuries, but they had not been too serious. When the rider, a young girl, had tried to explain, Wrenlou had gone mad. He had yelled at her, but the words he shouted had stung Hiccup. He felt like they were also directed towards him. _Protect your dragon! Without him, your life is nothing. Without him, you are nothing. You are lucky he's still alive. You could have been killed out there. _He hadn't stayed to listen. He had run to Toothless, grabbing a fish along the way. He now sat next to his dragon, stroking the black nose. Toothless was humming softly.

'Hiccup?'

The two looked up. Wrenlou was standing in the doorway. Toothless growled softly. His rider was unsettled, and this man was the cause.

'Can I talk to you?'

Hiccup nodded, but Toothless still had his teeth bared.

'I'm sorry. I know that what I said hurt you. I know you feel responsible for what happened to Toothless. But Hiccup, it's not your fault.'

'I know.' Hiccup said. Toothless relaxed now that he felt his rider relax. 'But I feel like it's my fault. I was irresponsible.'

Wrenlou abandoned his spot at the doorpost and joined Hiccup on the ground. 'Why? What did you do?'

'I went out flying alone. I told no one where I was going. I put myself and Toothless in danger..'

'Let me stop you right there. Going out alone without telling anyone where you're going is not being irresponsible. You're the chief, you can do what you want. And my question is now, did you seek it out?'

'What?' Hiccup looked confused. Toothless mimicked his expression.

'The Red Death. Did you seek it out. Did you go to it's nest knowingly, to hunt it.'

'No. we didn't even know where the nest was.'

'Then it's not your fault. She,' he gestured in the direction of the plaza, 'she went to Changewing island on purpose, putting both herself and the dragon at risk. You must know how protective Changewings are about their eggs. Every rider knows not to go there. That's why I got mad. I'm sorry it made you feel bad.'

Hiccup smiled. 'It's okay. Really. I know it wasn't meant for me.'

They sat quietly for a while, the Wrenlou suddenly got up.

'Where are you going?' Hiccup asked, suddenly worried.

'I'll be right back.'

'That wasn't an answer,' Hiccup mumbled when Wrenlou had left. 'I wonder what he's up to, don't you?'

The dragon laid his head down on Hiccup's lap with a sigh, but looked right up again when Wrenlou appeared in the doorway again.

'Toothless? There is someone I want you to meet.' Toothless tilted his head, expectingly.

'Toothless, Snowflake. Snowflake, Toothless.'

Snowflake's head appeared above Wrenlou's. Toothless looked up at her and froze when he realized what she was. Wrenlou stepped aside, allowing the white Night Fury to come in closer to Toothless. She sniffed him and he sniffed back. Then he turned his head to Hiccup, his eyes big.

'That's right bud. She's a Night Fury too.'

Toothless turned his head back towards the other Night Fury. He seemed too amazed to make a sound. Snowflake decided she could lay down next to him and for a while, Hiccup and Wrenlou didn't exist. Hiccup suddenly realized that he smiling. This was the first time Toothless had been in real contact with any of the Night Fury's on this island. It probably was the first contact with another Night Fury in a long time. After a while both dragons calmed down and Wrenlou settled himself between his dragons front legs. Hiccup did the same. Snowflake had a wing over Toothless, like a mother protecting her young, and Toothless had his tail around Snowflake. Hiccup suddenly noticed something.

'Shouldn't we go?'

'Why?'

'It's getting dark. I thought no one was supposed to be here after dark.'

Wrenlou poked his head out from under Snowflake's chin and looked up at the window.

'Screw that. We're breaking the rules tonight.'

'Can we just do that?'

'No, of course not. But Toothless is calm, Snowflake is here, why shouldn't we stay. It will be fine Hiccup. If we get in trouble for staying, I will take the full responsibility, don't worry.'

Hiccup smiled and curled up. Toothless curled up around him. Snowflake did the same with Wrenlou and it wasn't long before both boys and both dragons were fast asleep.


	8. Chapter 8 Making progress

This is my second update today, so for who missed chapter 7, go read that first. Time goes fast in this chapter, I skipped a few weeks. Let me know what you think and thanks for all support. Enjoy!

Chapter 8 Making progress

Hiccup woke up staring at the ceiling. As every morning he didn't get out of bed just yet. He lay there and just like every morning, he tried to remember how long he had been here. Three weeks. Today it had been three weeks. He yawned and got up. While putting on his clothes he smiled. Yesterday Wrenlou had unwrapped Toothless' wing and told the dragon to stretch it. Toothless had done so, but hadn't stretched the wing completely. Wrenlou had made him. Not by pulling on it, or forcing anything, but he had stroked his had over Toothless' neck and then down the wing, pushing the bone. It had resulted in shriek from Toothless, Wrenlou nearly losing his head and a perfectly stretched wing. Toothless had not been happy, but Wrenlou had been satisfied. The wing membrane had healed, it was just the bone that needed to heal completely. Luckily dragons healed a lot faster than humans. Hiccup pulled the door shut behind him and skillfully navigated through the dragons on the plaza. He was greeted with growls and the occasional good morning. When the building came into sight, he stopped, surprised. Toothless was outside. Wrenlou was a few steps away from him, a large salmon in the hand he had stretched out to the dragon. Toothless tried to reach from where he stood, but was a few inches short. He needed to take that step. When he did, it was wobbly, unstable. Snowflake cooed encouragement and Toothless looked up at her, the fishtail hanging from his mouth.

'Toothless!'

Wrenlou and the dragon looked up. Toothless swallowed the fish and looked at Hiccup in delight, before trying to jump on him, and failing miserably. He fell flat on his face, resulting in laughter from both Hiccup and Wrenlou.

'Take it easy there bud. Your balance is off, isn't it.'

Toothless turned away from him, clearly sulking.

'Oh come on bud, it's okay. I'm sure we will be able to go home soon.'

'Did you finish his new tail?' Wrenlou asked while bringing Toothless another fish.

'Yes I finished it yesterday. So, when will he be able to fly?'

'Fly? Hiccup he can hardly walk. It's going to take some time. But he is making progress. Give it another week. For now, I suggest you walk him around, get him to feel his legs again. Regain his balance. And then we'll she when he'll be able to fly.'

Hiccup nodded, happy they were finally getting somewhere. He took Toothless all over the city, including the abandoned areas. As they walked Toothless was getting more and more stable on his feet and by the end of the day, it was as if his wing wasn't broken at all. He was running, jumping, even playing with some of the other Night Fury's. Hiccup left him in the care of Snowflake while he went to get Toothless' new tail.

'How is it going now?'

'Great,' Hiccup said without looking up. He recognized Wrenlou's voice by now. 'I was just getting his tail, to see if I needed to make adjustments. He's doing great I should say.'

'Where is he now?'

'I left him with Snowflake and some others.'

'Let him sleep in your room tonight. I think that's beter.'

Hiccup nodded then hurried of with the artificial tailfin in his arms. It wasn't red, like the old one, but brown, more like the first one he ever made. Toothless was delighted to be whole again and they went for another walk, only this time Hiccup was riding the dragon. It was dark when they returned to the city. They saw Snowflake up on her ledge and Hiccup wondered why she didn't sleep in Wrenlou's room, until he noticed how she had curled up. Head under a wing, tail over the edge, and he realized Wrenlou was sleeping in her room. Toothless curled up in a corner and it took Hiccup a long time to fall asleep, staring at the black form of the dragon.

He was awoken by Toothless, just like the dragon always woke him on Berk. The dragon jumped on the bed, licking him all over.

'Toothless! You know that doesn't wash out! Alright bud, settle down, I'm coming.'

Hiccup rubbed his eyes. Toothless was chasing his tail, knocking over almost every piece of furniture in the room. Then he sat down, eyes big, and looked ad Hiccup.

'Why are you so excited? Oh.. I remember. We're going to fly today.'

Toothless jumped up at the word "_fly_" and bolted out the door. Hiccup followed a little slower. He saw Toothless greet Wrenlou and Snowflake, running around the pair in circles.

'He sure is excited.' Hiccup said laughing.

'He's been grounded for four weeks, what did you expect. Okay, let's eat something first, then we'll get to flying.'

Toothless ran past them, smacking Hiccup with his tail, and came back with a mouth full of fish. He swallowed them all at once and looked at Hiccup, tongue hanging out of his mouth.

'Alright, saddle up Hiccup. You know how that contraption works.'

Hiccup smiled. He had perfected it the last week. It was different from the one they had, but it would work. He saw now that Snowflake was also wearing a harness. But Toothless wouldn't sit still. He kept wriggling, turning, but finally Hiccup was done. Both riders mounted their dragons.

'Okay,' Wrenlou said, 'Toothless, I know your wings are itching, but I want you to take it easy okay? Just follow Snowflake. We'll make quick spin around the island and see how your wing is after that.'

Toothless made a sound and stretched his wings, Snowflake did the same. Both dragons leapt towards the sky, their wings beating. Their were quickly gaining altitude and Hiccup saw the island get smaller. He looked at Wrenlou and realized that this was the first time he had seen him on his dragons back. Wrenlou looked back and smiled. Snowflake dove towards the sea, and Toothless followed. When they were soaring above the water and Hiccup felt the wind and the fine spray of mist in his face, the dragons muscles underneath the skin, the sensation of being free, reality hit him. They were flying. After four weeks, they were flying. They had just made a major step towards going home.


	9. Chapter 9 Astrid's anguish

Okay, really short chapter. More of an intermezzo. I will try to update a longer chapter next time. Thank you for reviews and support! Enjoy!

Chapter 9 Astrid's anguish

_Meanwhile back on Berk..._

The first few days after Hiccups sudden disappearance had been the hardest. Every day when she woke up, the first thing Astrid would do was go to Hiccup, only to realize he wasn't there anymore. At first she was angry. Angry that he had left. The she grew worried. Worried he might not have had a choice. Worried he might be kidnapped, worried he might be injured, locked somewhere alone in the dark, waiting for a rescue that wouldn't come because they didn't know where he was. She started crying a lot, every night she would cry herself to sleep. She never would have though that Hiccup, small, useless Hiccup, could mean that much to her. Since he had so suddenly disappeared, she had taken over the chiefing duties. She used those duties as a distraction, but she spend every free moment she had on the back of her dragon, looking for Hiccup everywhere she could. Snotlout had found Toothless' prosthetic tailfin two days after Hiccup vanished, but no sign of the dragon, or his rider. She knew one thing. Without that tailfin, Toothless was grounded. Without Hiccup, Toothless was grounded. Without Hiccup she was grounded. She found it harder and harder to focus on her duties every day and she spend more and more time in the cove, the place Hiccup introduced her to Toothless. The days crept by. A week became two, two weeks became three. Somewhere, deep in her heart she hoped, she _prayed _that Hiccup would show up, that he had just run off to hide and accept the loss of Toothless. She would punch him, then kiss him, hold him and never let him go. She would ease his pain and try to heal his broken heart. But now she was struggling with her own broken heart. She wiped a tear from her face as she remembered his sarcasm, his humor, his _smile._ She then mentally slapped herself. _You don't know if he's dead Astrid, he will be back, you'll see._ She sighed as she picked up a rock and threw it in the ocean below, just like Hiccup used to do when things were rough. More rocks followed, and she was pretty sure they were piling up, creating an island below. But when she looked down, she saw nothing. She stood up to go home, but suddenly stopped. Had she just heard... a _Night Fury_? She stood, frozen. Yes, there it was again. The whistling sound of a approaching Night Fury. She turned around, half expecting to see Toothless there, looking at her with big, innocent eyes. Hiccup on his back looking at her sheepishly. But the rocks were empty. The sound had faded. She was alone on the cliff. Her heart broke all over again. The little spark of hope that had flamed up in her heart was crushed and replaced by fear. Fear for her beloved and his dragon. Fear for herself. For Valka. She realized she wasn't just afraid of what had become of Hiccup, she was afraid of what Berk would become without him.


	10. Chapter 10 The Choosing

Chapter 10 The Choosing

'Hiccup. Hey, Hiccup. Wake up man, we need to go.'

Hiccup groaned. 'Go where.' he mumbled.

'It's the night of the Choosing, remember? Come on, we leave in five minutes.'

'Ugh, really? Do I have to go?'

'Well, you could chose not to, but you'll miss the experience of a lifetime, another chance to test Toothless' wing and you'll be alone for quite some time.'

'Alright alright, I'm coming.'

Wrenlou left to give Hiccup the chance to get dressed. He looked around the room. It was empty. Toothless had probably already gone outside, anxious to go flying again. He quickly ate his breakfast and stepped outside. He saw Wrenlou waiting for him, with three others, one of which Hiccup recognized as Wrenlou's brother Broghan. Toothless was sitting beside Snowstorm and Moonchaser.

'There he is. Sleepyhead. Come on, let's go.'

Hiccup looked at the sky. It was early morning, just before dawn. The sky had already started to show her bright colours. Hiccup yawned as he mounted Toothless, the dragon trembling with anticipation. Wrenlou had warning him about the early start, but he still didn't like it. The dragons took off, and together they started the long flight. Even though it was on the same island, it took about an hour on dragon wings to reach Crystal Cove. The cold wind in his face woke him up completely. Hiccup sighed and settled on Toothless' back. Then he looked down. Dark green trees spotted the lighter green hills, rivers carved their way through the landscape, creating waterfalls and lakes as they went. Some roads, but not much, zigzagged through trees and over hills. Yak-like creatures used the meadows as their grazing ground. He saw some black shapes down on the hills. Night Fury's enjoying the suns first light. Hiccup felt incredibly peaceful as he and Toothless glided across the sky and they arrived a lot sooner than he expected. The dragons landed.

'We walk the last part.' Wrenlou explained, 'to not scare the dragons. Wild Night Fury's do live up to their name when they're startled.'

The five dragons followed a narrow path until a mountain came into sight. The island sure was bigger than Hiccup thought. They went into a small cave, leading into some sort of tunnel. It was so dark in there that Hiccup couldn't see a thing. The dragons could, however, and they knew exactly where to go. Eventually the tunnel opened up into an enormous cave. No, not a cave, the roof was open and sunlight peered in. Crystal Cove really lived up to it's name. The walls were covered in white and blue crystals. Hiccup looked around in amazement. Under him Toothless trembled.

'What's wrong bud?'

'There's nothing wrong with him,' Wrenlou answered for the dragon, 'this place is the source of the Night Fury's power. They are at their strongest here. So be careful.'

Hiccup nodded and looked around while Toothless followed Snowflake. There were Night Fury's on every ledge, rock and in every cave like opening in the wall, and there were many. Snowflake settled down in front of a large, blu crystal, Moonchaser on her left side while Toothless lay down on her right. It wasn't long before all three dragon were purring with content.

'What do we do now?' Hiccup asked.

'Now we wait until every rider and every dragon is here. The people from Lightcity will arrive at nightfall. Just relax, it's going to be a long wait.'

But to Hiccup time flew as fast as a Night Fury at full speed. Shortly after they has settled down on the rock, they were joined by two wild Night Fury's, two mothers with young. Both babies took interest in Toothless and Hiccup, and for a while they were a climbing toy. Only after one of the dragonets started chewing on his prosthetic tailfin did Toothless warn them with growl. The little dragons fled to the safety of their mothers, who looked at Toothless curiously. Hiccup spent the next few hours after the little dragons had left them alone to try and figure out the difference between Toothless, Snowflake and the two normal, black dragonesses at his side. He found that the females tails and tailfins were slightly longer, and that the face was softer, rounder. Other than that they weren't many differences. Then, when the sun sunk lower and the light inside the cave changed, he was fascinated by the way the many crystals reflected the light and created rainbows on the walls, the floor, the dragons. Then, finally, when the suns light left the cave, leaving it in growing darkness, a line of torches appeared. The villagers had arrived. All the riders and dragons had filled up the cave, covering every inch of the walls. At this point it had gotten so dark that Hiccup couldn't see much besides the flickering light from the torches far below. Then, a soft blue light appeared, and another, and another, and another. The Night Fury's were glowing, much like Toothless had done when they had been fighting the Bewilderbeast last year. The two dragonesses lit their glow, an Toothless did the same. When Snowflake lit her glow, Hiccup was surprised to see it wasn't blue, but golden. Hiccup looked at Wrenlou, questioningly. The man shrugged. Soon every dragon present in the cave had lit their glow, even the babies. The glow by itself wasn't that bright, but the crystals on the walls reflected the light and amplified it. It was quiet now, not a sound could be heard. And then he saw her and his jaw dropped. She stepped onto the plaza like clearing in the middle of the cave. A Night Fury. But what a Night Fury. She was bigger, much bigger than any Night Fury he had ever seen. Her size was close to that of a Monstrous Nightmare. She was black, but not completely. Her wings looked like they had been dipped in blue paint, just like her tailfins. A line of spots ran along her back, from the tip of her nose to the tip of her tail.

'Is that...' Hiccup gasped.

'The queen,' Wrenlou answered softly, 'Now hush.'

The dragon gently placed five eggs on the ground, before backing off and taking her place amongst her kin. A group of about 25 teenagers made their way over to the eggs and sat down in front of them. Hiccup could almost feel their anxiety. The soft pulsing glow from the eggs illuminated the kids faces. After an hour or so, the first egg hatched. And when it did, it didn't explode. It just broke open, and a tiny creature crawled out. It wobbled on it's legs, shaking to get a piece of eggshell of it's nose. It took a while before it found out there were people sitting there, all looking at it with hopeful eyes. The dragon made a tiny sound, before making it's way over to a girl with long blond hair. The dragon sniffed her fingers, before climbing onto her lab and curling up. The girl sat frozen for a moment, before carefully stroking the babydragon's back. A surprisingly loud purr arose from the tiny creature and the crowd burst out into applause.

'First.' whispered Wrenlou softly, and with a big smile on his face, 'Well done little sister. Well done.'

Over the course of the next three hours the other eggs hatched as well. Three boys and another girl were chosen by the baby dragons. When all the eggs had hatched the ones without a dragon stood up and walked back towards the other villagers, some were crying.

'Come on Hiccup,' Wrenlou said while stretching his back, 'time to meet the new dragon riders.'

From all sides of the cave dragons with riders bounded down towards the five teenagers cradling sleeping dragons in their arms. The wild dragons stayed where they were, this had nothing to do with them. As soon as they were on the ground, Wrenlou and Broghan rushed to the blonde girl. Hiccup just stood there, still mounted on Toothless, watching the turmoil, when he felt a hand on his knee. It was Wrenlou.

'Are you coming?'

'Where are we going?'

'Well, there is a feast now. In case ou had forgotten, none of us ate in a long time. It's also to celebrate the new riders. You are a new rider. Well, not new, but new to our island. So, are you coming?'

hiccup turned around in the saddle and looked at the Night Fury's queen. She sat high above, watching everything that was going on. She must have sensed that he was looking at her, because she turned her head and looked him straight in the eyes. Hers were as blue as a clear wintersky. Hiccup smiled.

'I'm coming.'


	11. Chapter 11 Light city

I'm not entirely satisfied by how this chalet turned out, but I decided to post it anyways. Thanks for all support and let me know what you think!

Chapter 11 Light city

'Look, I know his wing is basically healed, but it's a long journey back without places to rest. I want be absolutely sure that he'll make it.'

'I understand that, but I've been away from Berk for six weeks now. I need to get back as soon as possibly.'

Wrenlou sighed and ran a hand through his hair. 'You do understand that if we leave before he's ready, you'll both die, right? Snowflake is not strong enough to carry Toothless.'

Hiccup sighed. Since Toothless was flying again, he had hoped he would be heading home soon. He just always forgot how far away home was. And Wrenlou was right. He had employed the help of four Monstrous Nightmares to get Toothless to the island in the first place. If they left and Toothless' wing would give out, they were lost.

Wrenlou must have sensed his disgruntlement. 'How about this. We go flying, then we go to Light city if you still want to see it, and we can maybe spend the night at my parents' place. Then tomorrow we can fly east for two days, turn back and continue back in one go. There are plenty of islands that way. So if Toothless can't make it, there are enough places to set down and rest. If he can make it back without stopping, we can make the preparations to get you home. How does that sound?'

Hiccup nodded, though reluctantly. Then he smiled. 'I would love to see Light city.' he said.

'Excellent. Go get Toothless and meet me here, okay?'

Hiccup nodded and ran off. He didn't need long to get the saddle on Toothless and he and Wrenlou were in the air in no time. They flew to the watergates, the high, gate like rock formations he had seen on his flight to the island. These rocks were a good place to test Toothless maneuverability. After a few hours of flying and resting and flying and resting Wrenlou decided that they should go to Light city. Te give the dragons the rest they needed for tomorrow, but also to be able to wander around the city for a few hours.

'What about the dragons? You said they aren't allowed in the city.'

'They're not. That's why they build stables on one of the hill tops. They can spent the night there. It's warm, dry and they have lots of fish. It's quite a long walk from to the city from there though.'

'What do you mean?'

'Well, when they decided to build the thing, there were people in the city who didn't like the idea of dragons being so close to their homes. So they build it pretty far away.'

'There are people who don't like dragons? Really? When they are born on an island full of dragons?'

'You can't force people to like dragons. You must know that Hiccup. Besides, they can fly and play all they want now without having to fear breaking anything.'

'But you said that dragon riders don't go to Light city. Not often anyway.'

'True, but the twelve members of the council do. The Council consists of 24 men, twelve dragons riders and twelve non dragon riders. They are our leaders. But it's easier for dragon riders to go to Light city then the other way around. Ah, there it is.'

They landed in front of a large structure, standing on top of a hill all by itself. There were a few dragon lounging on the tall grass. When they landed, two men approached them.

'Morning, staying the night?'

'Most likely,' Wrenlou said, 'we'll pick them up tomorrow morning I think.'

The man nodded. 'Excellent.'

Hiccup knelt in front of Toothless, scratching his chin. 'I'll be back tomorrow bud. You just rest, and relax okay?'

Toothless purred and pushed his nose into Hiccup's hand. Then he bounded off after Snowflake and settled in the grass.

'He'll be fine Hiccup. He's save here.'

'I know.' Hiccup said looking back one more time, 'I know.'

After about an hour they reached the cities main gate. It was buzzing with activity and Hiccup looked around in awe. He had never thought that there could be cities that were ten times bigger than Berk. But then again, he had never thought there would be a whole island with Night Fury's. As he and Wrenlou pushed through the crowd, he noticed some people staring at them. When he asked Wrenlou about that the man explained that they didn't see dragons riders in their flying suits very often, especially one legged ones. Hiccup shrugged it off, it didn't bother him. There was too much to see anyway. There were stalls everywhere, and with all kinds of things. Potts, fabrics, toys, swords and more exotic things. Then a stall filled with books caught his attention. He loved books. Especially notebooks. He found one that had a Night Fury painted on the cover. He ran his hand over the soft leather, totally in love with the little book.

'Like it?' Wrenlou asked next to him, but Hiccup was too amazed to answer. He was so caught in the design on the cover he didn't hear Wrenlou talk to the man behind the stall. He went to put it back, but Wrenlou stopped him.

'It's yours.'

He smiled when he saw Hiccup's surprised face. 'What? You going to need something to remember us by. And besides, I think that the one you had on you is pretty much full by now, isn't it?'

Hiccup blushed. He had no idea Wrenlou had seen that he was documenting everything for Fishlegs, among others. He nodded, keeping the book close to his chest. When they finally sat down somewhere, he flipped through the pages.

'It's made from a bush that grows here on the island. It's incredibly strong. Should be good enough to document everything else you see.'

'You're not angry?' Hiccup asked.

'Why would I be.' Wrenlou shrugged. 'I understand your desire to learn about the Night Fury's. I myself are very curious about the other dragons that were with you that day. I've never seen a dragon with four wings before. It's fascinating.'

'You mean Cloudjumper? He's my mothers dragon. His species is called a Stormcutter. But you really have to ask her about him. She can tell you much more. And the other was Astrid's Deadly Nadder, Stormfly. When we get back to Berk, stay away from her tail. She can shoot spines with it. Then we have a few Gronkles, Zipplebacks, Monstrous Nightmares, but you know those. I really think you should talk to Fishlegs. He's the one that knows the most. Or you could ask my mother.'

'We'll see. Come on, let's go find my parents place. It should still be in the same place, so it shouldn't be too hard to find.'

They found the house without taking any wrong turns. Wrenlou raised his hand to knock, but stopped.

'Something wrong?'

'No. it's just... I haven't seen them in a while. I don't know...'

He didn't finish the sentence, but instead he knocked on the door. It was opened by a young woman, with brown hair that barely reached her shoulder. Her eyes grew wide when she saw who was at the door.

'Wrenlou?'

'Hey, Kayla, how've you...'

He didn't get the chance to answer. The woman pulled him into a hug.

'It's so good to see you! How've you been. Who's your friend?'

'Kayla, this is Hiccup. Hiccup, my oldest sister Kayla.'

'Dragon rider too I see. Come on in. Dad isn't home, but I'll go find mom. This is the best surprise ever!'

'How many siblings do you have? I mean, Broghan, the girl at the Choosing and now Kayla'

'Three. Kayla is the oldest, Broghan is next, then me and then Vaeca, the one you saw at the Choosing.'

'I'm an only child,' Hiccup said, 'but sometimes is wish I had brothers or sisters.'

'Trust me, that's not always nice.'

'Wrenlou?'

'Mom. You look good.'

Hiccup eyed the woman that had just entered. She was tall, grey hairs mixed with the black ones. Hiccup could clearly see the resemblance as the woman pulled her son into a tight hug. Hiccup then introduced himself.

'Your father won't be back until nightfall, so I suggest you make yourself at home. I assume you want to spend the night here? No, that's no problem. Your room is still where you left it.'

'Thanks mom. Come on Hiccup.'

A few hours later Hiccup was sitting at the table with Wrenlou, his parents and his sister. He had realized that the one he had come to call friend looked nothing like his father, but more like his mother. They were talking about all kinds of stuff, from the best way to splint a Night Fury's broken wing to why the paving stones were round instead of squared. Hiccup loved every minute of it. He talked about Berk, about the dragons living there now, how they had been at war before he ended it by shooting down Toothless. But when it came to the attack of him and Toothless, he grew quiet. He didn't like talking about it and luckily, no one pushed the issue. After dinner, he found Wrenlou outside, looking at the stars.

'They seem really happy to see you.'

Wrenlou sighed. The last time they really saw me was after Snowflake and I...'

His voice drifted off, but Hiccup knew what he was going to say. _After Snowflake and I got attacked by the Red Death that attacked you. _Wrenlou had only briefly told him about that, and he had let it rest at the time, but now he needed to know.

'What happened exactly? When it attacked you? Please I need to know. It's still out there, Berk could still be in danger, you alone know that thing unlike any one else. I really need to know.'

Wrenlou bit his finger before running a hand through his hair. 'Alright,' he said after a while, 'I'll tell you.'


	12. Chapter 12 Wrenlou's story

Okay, so this chapter is a little weird. It makes massive jumps in time and skips a lot of things. Let me know if you don't understand and i will try to answer any questions that may arise. As always, enjoy!

Chapter 12 Wrenlou's story

_This chapter tells Wrenlou's story, (obviously) and it starts the day that he got Snowflake. So basically it starts ten years before he met Hiccup. It gets a little graphic (mentioning blood), but not too much. Every 0-0-0 is a jump in time._

Thirteen-year-old Wrenlou was sitting next to his parents and his six-year-old sister. He was happy and sad at the same time. Happy because his brother would fulfill his dreams to become a dragon rider, sad because he wouldn't see him again for some time. There was only one egg left now and he stared at it intensely. This little egg took it's time, and somehow, he felt drawn to it. It must have been, what, seven hours since the first egg hatched, and yet this one showed no signs of...

wait...

_wait..._

Finally, _finally, _the egg cracked. When the dragon crawled out, his jaw dropped. She was white. _White. _He looked at his mother, then his father. Every one seemed to be just as surprised as he was. His eyes then met Broghan's. His brother shook his head, as if he wanted to say that he didn't understand either. The dragonet shook her head, then looked at the row of teenagers on front of her. She shook her head again, turned around and began to crawl to the villagers sitting there. A whisper went through the crowd. Wrenlou frowned, he didn't understand what the dragon was doing. With a shock he realized she was making her way over to him! But that was supposed to happen! He closed his eyes and silently begged the dragon to turned around, he prayed to the gods to make her stop, but it was no use. His heart sank as he felt little claws grab his leg, climbing it. He opened his eyes and stared straight into the little dragon's eyes. His heart was racing and he gently tried to push her of his lap. It didn't work and she simply curled up, falling asleep. He sat frozen. What had just happened? Had this little dragon rejected everyone she could choose from to choose him instead? He wasn't even old enough!

'Wrenlou!'

He looked up. The leader of the dragon riders was pointing at him.

'Come here!'

It wasn't a question. He had no choice than to lift the sleeping dragon baby in his arms, and walk over to the man who had called for him. He could feel every pair of eyes in the cove staring at him, dragon and men alike. He felt incredibly small. He saw Broghan stare at him, complete bewilderment in his eyes. He stopped in front of the man, his eyes fixed on the ground. The man lifted his chin so that he had to look at him.

'Come with me.'

There was no anger or accusation in the man's voice. Unwittingly he held the dragon closer as he followed him. He was led to a building not far from the cove.

The next week was the worst week of his life. Neither he nor the dragon were allowed to leave. He couldn't go home to Light city, he wasn't allowed to go to Dragoncity and he was banned from going to Learners bay, to meet up with the other new dragon riders. The interrogations were the worst. Every one questioned him, every one accused him of doing something that made the dragon choose him. Every one doubted is ability to raise and train a dragon because of his age. They had tried so separate him from the dragon, but it had resulted in endless wailing from the little creature, so they gave up on that. By the end of the week the only thing he wanted to do was curl up and cry. He was at the point of doing so, the dragon, who he had decided to name Snowflake, curled up by his side, when the door opened. Half expecting to be questioned again, he turned away, tears burning in his eyes. Surely it wasn't his fault that the dragon had decided the she wanted him? He felt a hand on his shoulder.

'Wrenlou? Come on, look at me.'

Broghan. It was Broghan. Without a second thought, he threw himself in his brothers arms, finally crying. Broghan didn't say anything at first, he was just trying to calm his brother, then he gently pushed him away and wiped the tears from his face.

'I came to get you. They have decided you can keep her. Nothing can undo a dragons choice anyway. You can come with me to Learners bay.'

Wrenlou stared at him in disbelief. 'Really?'

Broghan nodded. 'Get your dragon. We're going to have to walk, but that's no problem, right?'

Wrenlou shook his head before turning around to pick up Snowflake.

'She sure is special. Have you named her yet?'

'Snowflake. I named her Snowflake. You?'

'I named him Moonchaser. Smile bro, this is going to be great.'

0-0-0

But from Wrenlou's point of view, it wasn't all that great. The other kids mocked him and Snowflake. They didn't see her as a proper Night Fury because of her strange colour. He was often alone. He would run off with her once the lessons were over. His brother stood up for them though, and Moonchaser became Snowflake's protector. Both dragons grew fast, as all young dragons do, but Snowflake, having been the smallest at birth, soon grew bigger than the others.

After five years their learning years were over and they all took the oath. Wrenlou and Snowflake finally found their place in Dragon city, both being accepted for who they were. But real acceptance didn't come until two years after they took the oath.

0-0-0

They had been sent out on a simple mission. Very easy. The only thing had to do was to go check how the Changewings were doing. The dragons had recently made their home on one of the larger islands. All they had to do was fly over, and see if they were okay. Then how was it that he was on the ground, looking for Snowflake, all the while trying to avoid an adolescent Titan wing who wanted them dead. He hadn't even heard it coming. It had just appeared. It had just attacked. They were so surprised that they had been forced to land on the island and they had lost each other trying to hide from the big dragon tearing through the trees to find them.

'Snowflake! Snowflake where are you!'

He probably shouldn't be shouting, but he was so worried about his dragon. Something rustled in the bushed behind him. He turned around but saw nothing. He took a step back, slowly panicking. Changewings had the ability to perfectly blend into their surroundings. As he took another step back, the dragon came out of hiding. He was almost relieved to see it was indeed a Changewing, and not the Titan wing that had been chasing them. The dragon seemed curious rather than aggressive, and he relaxed a bit.

'Snowflake? Come on girl, where are you!'

The Changewing growled, as if he was scared by his sudden calling. He reached out to it, to try and calm it, but it only seemed to infuriate the dragon further. He realized he shouldn't have called out so suddenly in front of a strange dragon.

'Easy, easy. I don't want your eggs, I only want my dragon. As soon as I find her I'll be gone I promise.'

The dragon continued to walk towards him and he continued to walk back. Then, the dragon jumped at him, but before it could really hurt him, he was lifted into the sky and the dragons claws only slightly grazed his leg.

'Snowflake! Where have you been! I was worried about you.'

He used the leather harness to climb on her back, letting out a soft cry as he realized that the Changewing hurt him more than he had thought. He looked down on his leg. It didn't look to bad. Two parallel gashes, not to shockingly deep, but bleeding. He needed to go to Dragoncity and fast. Snowflake suddenly jolted to the left, almost flinging him from her back. For a moment he wondered why she would do that, but then the beam of fire shot past them into the ocean. Alarmed, he looked up. The Titan wing was back. He moaned softly. How could he forget. Snowflake had turned around and fired one of her plasma blasts at the beast. It didn't do much. The beast just growled, spewing fire at the again. The much smaller Night Fury was agile, and avoided the flames easily. They swerved around the dragons head, clawing at three of the six eyes. The beast let out a pained scream, swatting them like a man would swat a fly. The enormous paw hit them, claws tearing at both dragon and rider. Snowflake shrieked and pulled away from the dragon, leaving him blinded and bleeding. Wrenlou gasped, trying to hold on to Snowflake as pain shot through his body. Somewhere in the back of his head he realized that he was in trouble. He had trouble keeping his eyes open and after a while he lost consciousness.

0-0-0

'Hey Broghan, I'm sure your brother managed to mess up again. He always does that. They should have send me to check up on the Changewings.'

Broghan did his best to ignore the boy and to resist the urge to hit him. However, there was some truth to the words. Where ever Wrenlou and Snowflake went, they appeared to find trouble. Whether that was because of Snowflake's white skin or Wrenlou's young age was unclear to him. He heard a pained shriek in the distance. A dragon in trouble.

'See? I told you he would get in trouble. He always does.'

This time he didn't restrain himself and he hit the boy. Hard. Before he knew it they were fighting. He managed to get a few punches of before strong hands pulled him away. Before anyone could say anything, they heard a soft cry. Broghan turned around and froze. It was Snowflake. She was covered in blood and clearly wounded. The moment she landed, it was clear her legs couldn't support her weight. But that was not what made his heart sink. Wrenlou was on her back, unconscious.

'Wrenlou!'

He raced towards the dragon, pulling his brother into his arms. His eyes widened. There were large wounds on Wrenlou's chest and shoulder, as well as his leg. His eyes were closed and he was so pale.

'Wrenlou. Wrenlou, can you hear me? Please answer me. Wrenlou!'

He was panicking. He realized that he had no idea what he was supposed to do. Wrenlou was the one that always knew how to treat different kind of injuries. He had no idea how to even stop the bleeding. Snowflake cooed softly, clearly worried about her rider. One of the elders knelt next to him, signaling to follow him. He lifted Wrenlou in his arms and carried him towards his room. There, one of the healers, an elderly woman, came to take care of Wrenlou's injuries.

'What could have done this?' he asked as he watched while the woman bandaged Wrenlou's chest.

She shook her head, too focused on her work to answer. He sighed. Even with the blood washed away, the wounds looked terrible to Broghan. He had heard that Snowflake's condition was stable and that she would make a full recovery. She wasn't able to walk and thus not able to come and be with her rider. He had heard her cries all the way over here. After the woman finished she left, leaving him behind with more questions than answers. It was clear that Wrenlou had been attacked by a dragon, but it wasn't a Night Fury. He had no idea what type of dragon had done this, but he would find out. For now, all he could do was wait.

0-0-0

The first this he was aware of was the pain. Not the sharp, hot pain from before, but a more nagging sensation located primarily in his chest and leg. He moaned when he tried to move, but couldn't. He heard a familiar voice call out his name and managed to open his eyes. He saw Broghan on his left side, Snowflake on his right. He smiled softly.

'Hey there. Welcome back.'

'W... what happened?'

'I had hoped you would be ably to tell me.'

'Titan wing. N... near the Changewing. It surprised us...'

He closed his eyes. Talking took a lot more effort than he cared to admit.

'Titan wing? So far from home? What would ti be doing all the way out here?'

'H... how would... I know...'

'I wasn't really asking you. You just rest okay? Rest and get better. Let us worry about that Titan wing. Look, I have to go and tell the elders. Snowflake will stay with you. Just let her shout when you need anything okay?'

Wrenlou nodded, but immediately regretted that. His head hurt and shaking it didn't make it better. Broghan left and Snowflake gently placed her head on his good leg. He smiled, knowing she would protect him with her life if it came to it, and quickly fell asleep again.

0-0-0

The next few weeks Wrenlou and Snowflake were grounded. Snowflake couldn't fly until her leg was fully healed, but she wouldn't as long as Wrenlou wasn't able to go with her. The first week Wrenlou had to stay in bed, but after that they spend their time at the plaza. He hated not being able to fly. He knew Snowflake hated not being able to fly. The wounds healed, his limp disappeared, but the fear remained. Even when they were allowed to go flying again, he stayed away from the little island were the Changewings lived. Both he ans Snowflake were now respected by every dragon rider. They had fought a Titan wing, and survived. Snowflake, the one they had seen as unworthy, had saved her rider even blinding the attacking dragon. They enjoyed this new found respect, but it soon grew old to see every one practically bow before them.

0-0-0

'I will go.'

His voice quieted the room immediately. They had been discussing which of them should go to Berk, a little island where, or so they heard, a boy managed to gain the trust and friendship of an adult Night Fury. Certainly worth investigating, especially since all the Night Fury's lived here, on Night Fury Island. All eyes in the room were now in Wrenlou. One of the elders nodded.

'Alright. Leave as soon as possible. Find the island, find this... Hiccup, and see if they are ready for the truth about dragons.'

Wrenlou nodded, quickly leaving the room. Someone grabbed his arm. It was Broghan.

'Are you insane? We don't even know how far away Berk is. Or what is out there.'

'That's exactly the reason why I should go right? And it's about three days flying. Or so I heard. Don't worry, Snowflake can make that easily. We'll be back before you know it.'

'I'm not worried about the dragon,' Broghan said, crossing his arms, 'I'm worried about you. When have you ever been on a dragon's back for three days?'

'So I'll be a little sore. Who cares. The point is, someone needs to go and I just happen to want to meet new people. And new dragons. What's wrong with that?'

Broghan sighed. 'As long as you are careful.'

'When am I not careful? Wait, don't answer that. I know what you're going to say. Well, see you later!'

Snowflake spread her wings and jumped towards the sky. Soon they were high above the water, the wind in their face, heading north. It didn't even feel like three days. They arrived much sooner than he wanted. Now all he had to do was find this boy and his Night Fury.

0-0-0

Snowflake was frozen in the sky, Wrenlou could just stare. He had found the boy and his Night Fury, as well as a certain Titan wing he had hoped he would never see again. Both him and his dragon were overcome by fear as they remembered what that Titan wing had done to them. He suddenly saw dragon and rider fall towards the ocean, another dragon, unlike any he had ever seen before, dive after them. She only got the boy.

'No. NO!'

He knew no one heard his screams over the sounds of the fighting dragons, the Titan wing now attacked by a strange four-winged dragon. Where was the Night Fury? Why didn't he surface? He drove Snowflake down to the ocean, completely ignoring the other dragons, his mind focused on that Night Fury. He found him, miles of shore, struggling to stay afloat. Snowflake managed to get him onto a small island, but Wrenlou knew he needed help to get the dragon back to Night Fury Island. With a shudder he remembered what the poison this particular dragon put on his claws did to him and Snowflake. He also knew he needed to hurry.

0-0-0

'Broghan!'

'Wrenlou? What is the meaning of this?'

'Well, I found them, but they were attacked before I could meet them. The boy is alright, I think, but the dragon is in worse condition.'

'I only see the dragon.'

'Yes. The boy was saved by his friends. I just found the dragon before they did.'

'Then why would you bring it here? Why not bring him to their island?'

'He wouldn't have made it. Broghan, the were attacked by the same Titan wing that attacked us three years ago.'

'The poison! How can I help?'

'I need Moonchaser to get his rider as soon as possible.'

Broghan nodded. 'Fine. But why don't you send Snowflake?'

'Really? She doesn't have the cover of night. And for now, I want just the rider, not all of Berk.'

'You want to kidnap him. Alright, i'll go get Moonchaser. You take care of that dragon.'

'Thanks Broghan.'

0-0-0

'So that's Hiccup? He's older then I expected.'

'Shh, don't wake him just yet. Let him sleep for a while. He's been through a lot. He'll wake up when he's ready.'

Broghan nodded and softly closed the door. Wrenlou went to check up on the wounded dragon.

'Don't worry. Your rider is here. He will take care of you.'


	13. Chapter 13 Going home

Finally nearing the end...

Chapter 13 Going home

Hiccup looked at the fast disappearing island with a certain sadness. Over the course of the last two months it had become like home. Especially Wrenlou and Snowflake had been great to them. He sighed and shifted on Toothless' back. They were going home, but somewhere it felt like they left a part of themselves. He stroke Toothless' head and the dragon purred with content.

'Going so soon?'

He looked up, surprised to hear that voice.

'Wrenlou! I thought that they told you that you could't come with us.'

'Pff like I care. I'm not going to let you go alone. Especially not with that Red Death still out there. You need all the help you can get. And I brought this.'

He reached into the saddle bag and took out a small jar. It was filled with some sort of liquid.

'What's that?'

'The antidote to the poison. I figured that when something does go wrong, which hopefully won't happen, we don't have to rush back to Night Fury Island.'

'Good thinking,' Hiccup said while Wrenlou put the jar back. 'Won't you get in trouble? For disobeying orders?'

'I don't care, I will deal with that when I get back. I just can't let you go. I have to make it up to you.'

'Make it up to me? What do you mean? You saved Toothless! You don't have to make it up to me.'

Wrenlou sighed. 'Yes, I do. I saw it happen remember. We could have helped. Hell, we should have helped. But we froze. I couldn't move, Snowflake wouldn't move, I... I just... I was scared out of my mind.'

'And I don't blame you. You got attacked by it once. You barely survived. I don't blame you for freezing. And by the way, if you had helped us, we would never have seen Night Fury Island, would we.'

'You would have in due time. Would have taken longer though, you're right about that. Although I still feel bad for stealing you from your home and keeping you here for two months.'

'I don't mind. I'm glad you did.'

Wrenlou frowned. 'What?'

'I have learned so much about Night Fury's, I have seen the queen, I met so many new dragon riders, and you showed me so much I don't even know where to start describing it.'

Wrenlou smiled weakly. It was clear he wasn't entirely convinced. It was silent for a while, both dragons just flying on over the seemingly endless ocean. Down below Hiccup could see vague shadows in the water, probably Thunderdrums or Scauldrons. The sun had already began to set, they had left quite late in the afternoon, and soon the sea was no longer lit by and fiery orange glow, but by the soft blue light of the full moon. Hiccup looked to his left, where Wrenlou and Snowflake were still flying. He had never seen the white dragon fly at night before and the light of the moon reflected of her scales. Where the dark gave Toothless cover, it seemed to make Snowflake even more outstanding. Wrenlou looked at him and smiled. Hiccup smiled back. This is where he felt happiest. On the back of his dragon, flying high in the air. Both dragons flew up above the clouds to spend the night there. There was less change of getting attacked by predators from the water up there.

'Wrenlou?'

'Hmm?'

'Do you know any comfortable sleeping positions on the back of a flying dragon?'

Wrenlou chuckled. 'No. The best way to sleep on a flying dragon is under the flying dragon. There is just no way you can get comfortable on his back.'

'Under it? You mean with a hammock like construction? Why didn't I ever think of that?'

'You can't know everything Hiccup. And besides, sleeping on the dragons back isn't too bad. You'll get sore, I'll give you that, but still.'

Hiccup didn't answer. He still remembered how sore he had been the first time. Granted, this was Toothless he was flying now, so it was different.

'What about the dragons? Don't they need rest?'

'Another skill of the Night Fury's is that they can sleep while flying and you would never know. Toothless could be sleeping right now.'

A soft, protesting sound from Toothless told them that wasn't the case. Hiccup smiled and put his arms around the neck of the dragon. Before he knew it, he fell asleep in that position.

He woke up from the sun on his face and blinked at the bright light. He sat up an moaned. His back hurt like crazy. He stretched every inch of his body as well as he could then looked around. That's when he realized he didn't see Snowflake anywhere. Toothless ducked under the clouds at his command and he could see a white spot just above the waves.

'Hey Hiccup, sleep well?'

'Better than expected. I am sore now.'

Wrenlou smiled. 'Here.' He handed him a small bundle, 'breakfast.'

They ate without a word. The dragons catching fish from the water from time to time.

'When do you think we'll be there?'

'We could reach Berk by tomorrow I think, if all goes well. How's his wing holding up?'

Toothless roared loudly and spun around, as if to demonstrate he was fine. Wrenlou laughed as Snowflake roared back.

'I guess that means he's fine. Do you think he is able to fly on full speed yet?'

'Want to find out?'

Hiccup looked with surprise. Wrenlou was staring at him, a mischievous grin on his face.

'I'll race you.'

Hiccup smiled. 'You're on.'

The dragons were tearing through the clouds, trying to outsmart the other. They were tumbling, spinning, twirling, generally having fun. After about an hour they finally got to a slower pace, both their riders exhausted. The night was uneventfull and Hiccup woke up just in time to see the sunrise. The joy in his heart only grew knowing he was ever getting closer to home. It was midday when Wrenlou suddenly sat up.

'What's wrong?'

'That.' Wrenlou pointed towards the horizon in front of them. Thick, black clouds had covered the sky, reaching as far as the eye could see. 'Storm. That's not good.'

'Can't we fly through it?'

'A storm like that? No. Hiccup, are there any islands nearby? Anything that might offer shelter?'

Hiccup shook his head. 'Nothing nearby. Dragon island is still a few hours away, can we make it?'

'I doubt it, but we have to try. Lead the way.'

But they didn't make it. They weren't even halfway when the storm hit. The wind was pulling on them from all sides. Ice cold water poured down on them and they couldn't see a thing. The wind was so loud they couldn't even hear each other. Wrenlou lost track of Toothless on several occasions. Hiccup and Toothless were almost struck by lightning a few times. But finally, after being beaten by water and wind for nearly two hours, they found the island, and a cave to offer shelter. As soon as they were out of the rain and wind, Hiccup and Wrenlou stumbled of their dragons.

'Man, I'm freezing.' Wrenlou stated, shivering all over.

'Me too.'

The dragons crept over to their riders, wrapping their wings around them, protecting them from the cold.

'What do we do know?' Hiccup asked, rubbing his hands together.

'Wait it out. We can't fly though that, it's too dangerous. We'll stay here and see tomorrow. The dragons could use some rest.'

Hiccup nodded and walked to the opening of the cave. He stared into the dark for a while. There was no telling if the sun had set or not. They were so close to Berk he could almost smell it. They were almost home.


	14. Chapter 14 Berk

Getting closer to the end... please review and let me know what you think!

Chapter 14 Berk

Astrid opened the door only slightly and peered through the crack. The storm was over and she opened the door completely. Even the light rain had stopped and the sun was finally shining through the clouds. She stepped outside, Valka close behind her. Two months had passed and still no sign of Hiccup or Toothless. She sighed. Somewhere she was still so afraid that Hiccup had been captured, but another part of her had slowly began to accept the fact that he might be dead. Valka had been a great support, but Astrid knew that she feared for her son as well. She stopped at the edge of the plaza and looked up to the sky. There were still clouds, but they were scattered across the blue sky. She took a deep breath and froze. Up there, in the sky above the village, a jet black dragon shot through the sky. A surprised yelp from behind her told her Valka had seen it too.

"_Could it be...?"_

The dragon turned around and dove down towards the plaza. She could clearly see the prosthetic tailfin on the left side of his tail. Not red, like the old one, but brown, like someone had made a new one for him. No, not someone... _Hiccup_. The dragon landed. It was Toothless. But the one on his back, shaking his head, flinging water drops from his black hair, was _not _Hiccup. When the man slid off Toothless' his back, she could see that he was slightly taller than Hiccup, and, most importantly, he had both his legs. Toothless sat down, looking at the man with his head cocked a little to the right. Astrid felt her anger rise. Who was this person? Why was he riding Toothless like he owned him? And most important of all, where was Hiccup? Before she even knew it, she had run the short distance between herself and the stranger and was she on his chest, her hands firmly around his neck.

'Astrid!'

Valka looked up and her jaw dropped. A second Night Fury, a _white _Night Fury came down at the plaza. Before the dragon even touched the grounded, Hiccup jumped from it's back, running towards Astrid and Toothless. The white dragon tried to pounce past him.

'Snowflake!'

He stopped her, his hands stretched out. She growled at him, her teeth bared, but she stayed where she was.

'Astrid!'

He pulled at her shoulder, but she slapped him without even looking up. He stumbled back, tripping on his metal leg. For a moment he sat on the ground, hand on his cheek, dazed from the slap, then he scrambled back onto his feet.

'Astrid!'

This time he put his arms around her waist and pulled her of the man on the ground. She was fighting to get out of his grip, but he seemed to have no problem holding her tight.

'Settle down!'

Valka could only stare as her son dropped the girl on the ground and stepped past her, to the man on the ground. When he pulled him up, the white Night Fury, the one he had called Snowflake, jumped over the girl, hitting her with her tail, towards the man who was obviously her rider.

'Hiccup?'

Hiccup turned around at the sound of his mothers voice and smiled when he saw her. Astrid had gotten back on her feet, looking completely flabbergasted.

'Hiccup? You're alright? You're not dead?'

'Dead? Why would I be dead? Why would you even think... oooww, WHY would you DO that?'

'That's for scaring me and letting us think you were dead.' She hesitated for a moment before grabbing his collar and kissing him. 'That's for, you know, coming back.'

Hiccup smiled and then was caught in an embrace from his mother. All of Berk had gathered at the plaza. Valka let go of her son and smiled. It took a while before everyone had welcomed their chief back. Valka noticed the Night Fury and her rider standing to the side.

'Hiccup? Who's your friend?'

Hiccup looked up as if he totally forgot about the man and his Night Fury. Toothless bounded back to the two and rubbed his head up against the man. Valka walked a little closer to the pair. Astrid and Hiccup followed, but the white dragon growled when Astrid got too close. The man hushed her, but the dragon kept eyeing her suspiciously.

'Mom, Astrid, this is Wrenlou and Snowflake. They saved Toothless.'

'Another Night Fury. Amazing.'

'Wrenlou, this is my mom, Valka.'

Valka slowly walked closer to the dragon, just as she had done with Toothless when they first met, but unlike Toothless, Snowflake wrapped her tail around her rider and growled, her teeth bared.

'Easy girl, I'm sure not everyone on Berk is trying to kill me.' Wrenlou's voice was a bit harsh.

Hiccup chuckled and Wrenlou smiled.

'Yeah, well done Astrid!' Snotlout shouted from the crowd.

If looks could kill, Snotlout had died an awful death right where he stood. In the meantime Snowflake had allowed Valka to touch her.

'She's beautiful. I never would have dreamed I would ever see another Night Fury. And a white one an at! Are all females white?'

Wrenlou shook his head. 'No, the females are black too. She's the only one.'

'How do you know so much about Night Fury's?' Astrid asked, her arms crossed.

'Because I happen to live on Night Fury Island, home of all the Night Fury's.' He looked at Toothless. 'Well, almost all the Night Fury's.'

'Why don't we go inside?' Hiccup suggested, 'We can talk there.'

The crowd nodded almost in unison and quickly made their way to the Great Hall. Wrenlou stayed behind, walking towards the edge of the cliff.

'Are you coming?'

'I'll b right there Hiccup, don't worry.'

He heard Hiccup walk away. He looked out over the ocean. Somewhere, out there, was a certain Titan wing. He sighed. He couldn't get the dragon out of his head, no matter how hard he tried. Ever since he saw it here two months ago, it had been lingering in the back of his mind and had it made a come-back in his nightmares. He shivered. It was cold on Berk. He shook his head as if to get rid of a fly and turned around. He followed Snowflake towards the Great Hall, entering a sea of sound. He smiled. He had fulfilled part one of his mission. Hiccup was home.


	15. Chapter 15 Blame game

Chapter 15 Blame game

Wrenlou was sitting at the end of the table, away from the vikings who had surrounded their chief, asking question after question, barely giving him time to answer. Snowflake had curled up on the floor, her head on Wrenlou's lap, purring.

'Wrenlou?'

He looked up. There was big boy standing in front of him, clutching a book.

'My name is Fishlegs. I wondered if I could ask you.. about the Night Fury's? I mean... I really..'

'Sure. Sit down. What do you want to know?'

Fishlegs and Wrenlou were talking about the Night Fury queen when Hiccup joined them. Fishlegs immediately started talking to Hiccup about the Night Fury's and their queen. Hiccup just smiled.

'So, I have a question for you.'

Wrenlou looked up. Astrid was standing in front of him, her arms crossed. 'So ask.'

'How is it possible that you found Toothless and Valka didn't, when you weren't even there?'

'I was there. I saw it happen. And the underwater current there is strong, it pulled him into open water. That's where I found him.'

'Wait, you saw it happen? You were there and you didn't do anything?'

'Astrid, I...'

'You could have saved them! But instead you just watched? What kind of coward are you?'

Wrenlou's expression changed and both Hiccup and Fishlegs looked at Astrid. She didn't see the angry frown on Hiccup's face.

'What?' Wrenlou seemed too surprised to say anything else.

'You heard me. You could have helpt them. You didn't. That makes you a coward. I guess it's easier just kidnapping people than save their life.'

'You think I wanted this to happen? You think I just waited around? Do you see that? You think that just happens?'

He was pointing at Snowflakes left front paw. The scars the attack left on her were still clearly visible.

'I'm sorry I was attacked by it two years ago, I'm sorry I've been having nightmares, I'm sorry I was too scared to do anything!'

'Well, if you were attacked by it, how did it come here? Why didn't it just stay where it belongs?'

'You want to blame that on me too? I don't control the actions of the Titan wings! We only try to keep them on their island! If we wouldn't sacrifice our lives and that of our dragons, they would rule the world by now!'

Astrid was a bit taken aback by Wrenlou's sudden outburst. Every viking in the Great Hall was staring at them.

'So you drove it away from his home. So it really is your fault that it's here!'

'You think I wanted it to go here? Snowflake and I barely escaped with our lives, you think I was busy with where it would go? How do you think it felt seeing that thing here after we were fairly sure it died? And you can blame me all you want, but I didn't see you do anything either! At least Snowflake and I managed to blind it! That's more than you ever did! Even the first time you let Hiccup do it all by himself!'

'We couldn't ride dragons back then! We couldn't help him! And this time we were just to late! I saved his life! I couldn't find Toothless! But you just kidnapped him! And then you kidnapped Hiccup!'

'I did not kidnap anyone!'

'Fine, then you send your dragon to do it. That just makes you more of a coward!'

'Snowflake did not kidnap him! I did not kidnap anybody! Toothless would have died without his rider, I just did what had to be done! If you can't understand that, then maybe you're not fit to be a dragon rider!'

He left, Snowflake getting up to follow him, but before she did, she roared loudly in Astrid's face, clearly expressing her anger. The door slammed shut and Astrid turned to Hiccup, only to be greeted by his angry face.

'What the hell was that about? He's here to help Astrid. It's not his fault this happened.'

'But he could have helped you.'

'Yes he could have. And so could you. You were closer than he was, you were there before he was.'

'I saved your life! I would have saved Toothless if I...'

'If you what, Astrid. If you had found him? You see, the point is, you couldn't have. None of us could have. That dragon knows how to use the poison from frogs to make his claws poisonous. Toothless would have died. And you could have done nothing about it.'

'Even if that were true...'

'It is true Astrid! Do you really think he would lie just to be able to bring me to his island? He would have done that eventually anyway! He was send as an envoy by his leaders. To meet me! Me, Astrid, me and Toothless. He saved Toothless! He did, not you. And he came back with me to help us. He's terrified of it, they both are, but he's willing to face his fears if it means Berk will be save. He happens to know more about the Red Death than anyone here! He could have found the nest, he knows it's weaknesses, the best way to defeat it and you try to kill him? What the hell is wrong with you?'

Astrid now realized that Hiccup was truly mad at her and she took a step back, surprised by his anger. However, she had her answer ready.

'You think it has been easy for me? You just disappeared without a trace, you were nowhere to be found for two months, we had no way of knowing if you're even alive, if Toothless was even alive and then he shows up with a strange rider and you are nowhere in sight, what would you have me do?'

'Ask questions! It was my idea to trade dragons because I was curious. It was my idea that he'd fly Toothless back to Berk because I wanted to fly another Night Fury, to see what that was like. My idea, Astrid! You would have known if you would have asked, but you just have to go and try to kill him. And now you call him a coward because he froze when he saw the dragon that tried to kill them two years ago, while you yourself didn't do much more? You have no right to say that, Astrid! No right!'

For the first time in her life, Astrid didn't know what to say. She had never seen Hiccup so angry. Not like this anyway.

'He's gone,' Valka said, coming back in, 'They're both gone.'

'Are you happy now? He's gone, just like you wanted, right? You just chased away the only help we got. He could get in trouble for going with me, did you know that? I guess you probably didn't because you the only time you talked to him was to insult him. If he comes back, you will apologize, you understand me?'

After saying this, Hiccup turned around and stormed out the door, closely followed by Toothless. She could vaguely see the two take off, probably to try and find Wrenlou. Astrid, not willing to admit her mistake, sat down, her face as dark as Toothless' skin. There was _no way_ she was going to apologize. She _did not _apologize. She felt eyes burn in her neck and turned around. Fishlegs was staring at her, surprise written all over his face.

'What?' she snapped and the boy hurried off.

Hiccup wasn't back by sunset and there was no sign of Wrenlou and Snowflake. Somewhere Astrid felt guilty, but she brushed the feeling aside. After nightfall Hiccup finally came back, alone. He ignored her for the rest of the night, clearly still mad at her. She went to bed early, not knowing what else to do. She was angry at Hiccup, angry at Wrenlou and angry at herself. Stormfly tried to make her feel better, but tonight she was not in the mood to be cheered up.

"_Don't you think he's right? Don't you think Wrenlou was the best chance you had at finding that Red Death?"_

She quickly silenced the voice in the back of her head. She would not feel guilty. Wrenlou had kidnapped Hiccup, no matter what he said. Even if he hadn't done it himself, he had sent a dragon to do it.

She couldn't sleep. She lay awake most of the night, her feelings tearing her apart. On one side she was still angry at Wrenlou and Hiccup, on the other she felt guilty for judging him too quickly. Well, it was too late now anyway. He was gone. She doubted if he would ever come back, not after what she said to him. She sighed. What bothered her the most was the fact that Hiccup was mad at her. She decided she would go talk to him tomorrow. And Wrenlou or no Wrenlou, they would find that dragon and kill it.


	16. Chapter 16 The Red Death

Edit: Okay, so something went wrong the first time. Thank you, Kagomee14 for pointing that out. I have no idea what happened, but here it is... again...

Sorry for the cliffhanger... hope you enjoy anyways

Chapter 16 The Red Death

The next morning Astrid found Hiccup on the plaza, talking to his mother. She took a deep breath and started walking towards him. Before she could say anything, she was interrupted by a white blur shooting down at the plaza.

'Hiccup!'

Snowflake landed, out of breath, which was very unusual for a Night Fury. Wrenlou was panting. They must have been flying for their lives.

'We found it. The dragons nest, we found it.'

'The Red Death?' Hiccup asked, 'where?'

'It's a little mountain island, that way.' He pointed east.

'I thought you'd left.'

'I thought about it,' Wrenlou said with a sigh, dismounting his dragon, 'I was already on my way. But it wouldn't have been fair. Besides, I'm tired of running from it.'

'I'm glad you decided otherwise. We could really use your help. What else did you discover?'

'There's one way in and out, at least for the Red Death itself. There are several smaller tunnels. Inside is a maze, we almost didn't make it back out.'

'Okay. What about the Red Death itself? Did you get a look at it?'

'No. But I know it's there.'

'Alright. Let's to the Great Hall, we're going to need a plan.'

They had stayed up late, discussing on the best way to drive the Red Death out of it's layer into the open, where they could kill it. Eventually they had gone to bed, without a plan.

0-0-0-0

'Wrenlou? Where are you going?'

'Go back to sleep Hiccup. This isn't your fight.'

'Wow, wait a minute. You can't fight that thing alone.'

Wrenlou turned around. Hiccup was standing on the steps that led to his house, Toothless next to him.

'Hiccup...'

'We're coming with you.'

'No! I don't want to put you or your friends in danger.'

'And I won't let you risk your life alone. You're like a brother to me Wrenlou. Either we're coming, or you're not going anywhere.'

Wrenlou sighed and ran a hand through his hair, spiking it in every direction. 'Fine.'

Hiccup smiled and mounted Toothless. Wrenlou did the same with Snowflake. The dragons took off, shuddering as they approached the little mountain island where the Red Death had made it's home.

0-0-0-0

'I will kill him!'

'Eeehhh who, Hiccup or Wrenlou.'

'Shut up Tuffnut, before I kill you too.'

Astrid was pacing up and down the plaza. She was furious. She had just found out that both Hiccup and Wrenlou were nowhere to be found and that their dragons were also missing. She was sure that they had gone to find the Red Death, and she was sure it was Wrenlou's idea. Valka came back from checking the cove. The look on her face confirmed what Astrid already knew. Hiccup and Wrenlou had gone to find the Red Death.

'We have to do something!'

'Astrid, calm down. I'm sure Hiccup knows what he's doing.'

'Don't pretend you're not worried about him! He's your son!'

'Yes, and he's also the chief of Berk. Of course I'm worried, but I'm sure Hiccup knows what he's doing.'

'I'm still going after him. Who's with me?'

Snotlout, Eret and the twins raised their hands. Valka sighed and nodded.

'Very well,' she said, 'we will go and look for Hiccup.'

She whistled to Cloudjumper, while Astrid mounted Stormfly. The others followed their example. They didn't even have to look long. All they had to do was follow the screams of the dragons. The Red Death was already out in the sky, chasing the small white dragon and the black one, which ever came too close. Toothless was hitting it with blue plasmablasts, while Snowflake's plasmablasts were golden. It only seemed to annoy the dragon. It was Hiccup who saw them first.

'Wrenlou! I'll kill you!'

'Hey! It was his idea to come Astrid!'

Astrid frowned but had no time to answer. The new dragons seemed to enrage the Red Death even more and it spun around, spewing fire in every direction. The dragons only nearly missed the flames.

'Stop trying to blame him for everything, Astrid. He's risking his life to help us. And he planned to do it alone.'

Astrid looked at Hiccup next to her. He stared back with an angry frown but she wasn't sure if he was still angry at her or just focused on the Red Death.

'What's he doing?' Valka asked, pointing at Wrenlou with her staff. Snowflake was circling the Red Death's head, focused on the left side. The three watched with surprise as Snowflake aimed for the one remaining eye the dragon had on the left side. While Snotlout and the twins distracted the dragon, Snowflake actually managed to blind the remaining eye, clawing at it while in flight. The dragon shrieked in pain and brought up a massive paw, barely missing Wrenlou and Snowflake.

'Yeah well done!' Astrid shouted, ignoring the looks Hiccup and Valka gave her.

Hiccup had Toothless attack the now blinded dragon on the left side, Wrenlou did the same. But somehow, when Snowflake swerved to avoid a wing, she couldn't avoid the tail. It hit them like a rock, knocking them out of the sky, and down towards the island. Wrenlou was thrown of the dragon, hitting the rocks. The fall knocked the wind out of him and he gasped for air. He suddenly felt a hand pull him up. Hiccup stared at him worried, Toothless was nudging Snowflake.

'You okay?'

Wrenlou nodded, but immediately regretted that. Pain exploded behind his eyes and his legs gave in. Hiccup had to support him to the ground. He covered his face with his hands, feeling warm blood on the right side of it.

'Just give me a minute,' he mumbled, but Hiccup gasped.

'Wrenlou... your arm...'

Wrenlou looked up. Hiccup was staring at his right arm, shock written all over his face. When Wrenlou looked down, he saw what had Hiccup so worried. His arm was cut, from his elbow to his wrist, probably from when Snowflake blinded the dragon. He hadn't missed at all. It could explain why he felt so wobbly...

'Wrenlou, what about the poison?'

'I have time.'

'But...'

'Hiccup, I have time.'

But while he said it, his legs were unsteady and his head swam, although that could come from his encounter with the rock.

'Hang on.'

Hiccup ran to Toothless, who had Snowflake back on her feet. She seemed okay. He found the roll of gauze he kept in Toothless saddle back and ran back to Wrenlou. He quickly bandaged his arm, in an pathetic attempt to stop the bleeding.

'It's no use. It's after me and Snowflake.'

'Well of course it is. You just blinded it.'

'It's not funny, Hiccup.'

'I wasn't trying to be funny. Hey, it's after you and snowflake, right?'

'I just said that,' Wrenlou answered.

'Then I might have an idea. It's a little crazy, but it might work.'

'I'm open to suggestions at the moment. Please enlighten me.'


	17. Chapter 17 (Un)defeated

So, shortish chapter again. I think there will be three, maybe four chapters left at this point. I'll try to finish before my trip to Copenhagen next week! Enjoy!

Chapter 17 (Un)defeated

'Hiccup!'

Astrid looked around. She had seen Snowflake and Wrenlou go down, Hiccup diving after them, but now she didn't see them anywhere and the Red Death was still blasting fire all around. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Toothless shoot straight up, followed closely by Snowflake. She steered closer to Toothless.

'Hiccup, you okay?'

'I'm fine.'

His voice came from above her and she looked up with surprise. Snowflake was hovering, Hiccup on her back. She looked back to Toothless. Wrenlou was staring back at her. He looked horrible. Blood had stained the right side of his face and he was pale. She looked back at Hiccup.

'Hiccup, what are you doing?'

'Astrid, trust me. Please.'

Both dragons flew towards the Red Death, Toothless luring it up into the clouds, while Snowflake continued to distract it. The dragon seemed utterly confused. Wrenlou had been right, it had been after him and Snowflake. So now that they were separated, the Red Death seemed aimless. It chased Hiccup, then turned back to Wrenlou. Because of his blind side, the Red Death spun in circles, his head bent left, trying to keep both dragons in his field of view. Gradually they disappeared into the thick clouds that had formed above the island. Astrid could only think of what happened the first time Hiccup did that. He crashed and lost a leg. Suddenly Snowflake burst out of the clouds, hovering above the water, waiting for something.

Wrenlou was trying to keep his eyes open, and trying to keep up with Toothless. They had lured the Red Death into the clouds, Hiccup had gone back to the water, so it was time for part two of his plan. Toothless dove towards the ocean, much like he had done the first time. Only this time the Red Death had to keep it's head slightly bent to the left to keep them in view, and this time Hiccup was waiting for it. His blurry vision and trembling arm didn't make it any better. He missed how Hiccup managed to steer Snowflake into the position that she could fire her last plasmablast into the dragons opened mouth, but the splash the dragon's body made when it hit the ocean nearly swiped him off of Toothless. He was loosing consciousness fast and Toothless must have felt it, because as soon as the waves calmed down, he turned around and flew as fast as he could back to Berk. Wrenlou was fighting to keep his eyes open. The impact with the rocks must have been harder than he thought. When they arrived on Berk, Toothless shot down at the plaza, but Wrenlou was too late with opening the tailfin and for the second time that day he had a painful encounter with the ground. He could vaguely see that Toothless rolled over, his previously broken wing trapped under his body. The dragon was back on his feet quickly, running over to Wrenlou, nudging him gently. He tried to get up, but as soon as he put weight on his injured arm, it gave in and he let out a painful cry. Hiccup landed, rushing over to Wrenlou, Snowflake in tow.

'Wrenlou!'

Hiccup pulled the half unconscious man into his arms. He was pale, from blood loss or poisoning, possibly both.

'Hang on okay. The antidote, where is it?'

Wrenlou seemed to miss the question. His eyes were closed and Hiccup wasn't sure if he was even awake.

'Wrenlou!' Hiccup shook him gently, and Wrenlou's eyes fluttered open. 'The antidote, where is it?

'S... saddle bag...'

Hiccup looked up at Snowflake. She was standing over them, cooing softly. He didn't see a saddle bag anywhere on her harness.

'Wrenlou... it's not there...'

'L... left it in the... house...'

'Thank gods. Mom! Mom, where are you!'

Valka pushed trough the crowd that had formed. She took one look at the man in her sons arms and nodded. She understood what Hiccup wanted from her. Hiccup stood up, lifting Wrenlou with ease. Astrid watched him walk away, a Night Fury on either side, followed by his mother and the Stormcutter. Guilt was gnawing at her. She bit her lip and turned around. The entire village was staring at her. She sighed. She had a lot of explaining to do.


	18. Chapter 18 Fallen hero

No one died... I just like drama. Anyways, maybe three more chapters and it's done! If you have ideas or suggestions for a sequel, let me know. if you have ideas or suggestions for a story in general, let me know. Enjoy!

Chapter 18 Fallen hero

Hiccup suddenly woke up. Something was wrong. He looked to Toothless, who was sleeping peacefully on his rock. Then he looked at the bed, where they had put Wrenlou. Something was definitively wrong. He jumped up, waking Toothless in the process, and rushed over to the bedside. Wrenlou was shaking. No, not just shaking, violent spasms. His eyes were squeezed shut, his left hand clenched the blankets. He was clearly in pain.

'Mom! MOM!'

He ran downstairs, nearly tripping over Cloudjumper's tail. The dragon growled softly.

'Mom!'

Valka came in from the backroom, rubbing her eyes.

'Hiccup...'

'Something's wrong with Wrenlou!'

She rushed up the stairs, followed by her son. She found the white Night Fury at Wrenlou's side, crooning softly. Valka looked at him, then turned to Hiccup.

'Bring me the rest of the antidote, some water and fresh bandages. Quickly.'

Hiccup nodded and left. He didn't want to admit it, but he was terribly worried Wrenlou would die. He really did think of him as a brother. He found the bandages and put them in the saddle bag. He then hung it over his shoulder while he looked for a bowl. Carefully, not to spill any water, he walked back up the stairs. Valka had unwrapped the bandage around Wrenlou's right arm. The cut was red, swollen.

'Hold his arm. Here and here.'

Hiccup gently took Wrenlou's arm by his elbow and his wrist, careful not to touch the wound. Valka gently washed the skin around the wound. Wrenlou whimpered every time she touched his skin. She then opened the jar with antidote and took a strip from one of the rolls of gauze Hiccup had brought. She soaked it in the liquid, then placed it on the wound. Wrenlou screamed when the wet cloth his his arm and tried to pull it from Hiccup's grip. Quickly, Valka used the remaining gauze to wrap his arm back up. She also looked at the headwound. The wound itself was relatively small, but the bruise around it was much bigger, making it look far worse than it really was. She bandaged it again. It took a while for the spasms to disappear completely, but when they did, she sighed.

'Some one has to stay with him.'

'I'll stay with him,' Hiccup said. 'Correction, we'll stay with him.' He looked at both dragons.

'Okay. Let me know if anything else happens.'

'You know I will.'

After Valka had left, Snowflake slowly came back to the bed. With Hiccup sitting on the right side, she moved to the left, laying her head on Wrenlou's leg.

'Don't worry girl, he will be alright. You'll see.'

The rest of the night was uneventful. Nothing happened, except for Wrenlou's feverish ramblings. The spasms had gone, only his right arm was shaking now. When the light peered through the window, Hiccup stood up. He was tired, he hadn't slept much, but he was hungry.

'Will you stay here?' he asked Snowflake while he scratched her head. She pushed her nose into his hand and cooed softly, before returning to the bed.

He went to the Great Hall to eat, but soon realized that was a mistake. Everyone surrounded him and bombarded him with questions. He managed to escape, and sighed. Toothless nudged him gently, then looked at the sky. It was clear what he wanted and Hiccup smiled. Flying would make him feel better.

It was already getting dark when he returned. He had stayed away far longer than he had anticipated. They had checked on the little mountain island where the Red Death had made it's home, but had found no sign to suggest it had survived. He landed in front of the house, not being ably to go directly to his room because of Wrenlou, and stepped inside. Valka was sitting at the table.

'There you are. I was worried about you.'

'Just went to check if the Red Death was really dead. We found no sign of it so I think it is. How's Wrenlou?'

'He's asleep, for now. That poison is really strong.'

'It can kill a dragon in five days. Imagine what it can do to a human.' He sat down, rubbing his eyes.

'You look tired. Why don't you get some sleep. I'll watch over Wrenlou, okay?'

He gratefully accepted her offer. Even though he slept in the same room as Wrenlou, it was nice to know that some one else would watch over him. He curled up on the floor, Toothless next to him, and quickly fell asleep.

He couldn't stop coughing. Some one was rubbing his back, but he just could't stop. He felt something touch his lips. Water. He drank it eagerly, and the coughing slowly subsided. But now he was so cold... he shivered.

'Hiccup, get some more blankets.'

A woman's voice. Hiccup's mother? What was her name again? He couldn't remember. She was still rubbing his back. The weight on the right side disappeared, and he heard the metallic _clank_ from Hiccup's metal leg fade. When it came back, something was wrapped around him.

'Stay with him. I'll be right back.'

The woman left, but Hiccup stayed, sitting on the right side of the bed. Wrenlou looked at him, still shivering.

'I'm sorry.'

'For what?' Hiccup asked, surprised.

'For invading your home like this. For being a...' The rest of the sentence was lost in another violent coughing fit.

'You're not invading anything,' Hiccup said after the coughing had died down, 'and you're not a problem. Really.'

'Where am I anyway?'

'You're in my room. In my bed.'

'That's what I mean. Where do you sleep?'

'I sleep on the floor, but that's okay. Really. You saved us all. You saved me. So let me save you now.'

Valka came back with a cup she handed to Wrenlou.

'Warm yakmilk?' Hiccup said, 'why don't I get warm yakmilk?'

Valka looked at her son with a look that read _you're not sick_, but she left again anyway. Wrenlou laughed at her face, but ended up coughing again.

'Man, that poison sure makes you sick. Was it like this the first time?'

'I don't know.' Wrenlou said gasping, 'I was unconscious the whole time. But I don't think it's just the poison. My head feels like it's going to explode.'

Hiccup smiled weakly. He knew the feeling. Valka came back again carrying another cup and a bowl of fresh water. She gave the cup to Hiccup and set the bowl down next to the bed. Wrenlou whimpered, but allowed her to clean the wound again and put more antidote on it. The look on his face told the story. It hurt like hell. After she had bandaged it again, she left, leaving the two men. Hiccup and Wrenlou talked for a while, before Hiccup got up to return both cups to Valka downstairs. When he came back up, he stopped, surprised. Snowflake had curled around Wrenlou, laying on the side of the bed. Because the bed was quite small and the dragon was rather big, she didn't fit at all. Her tail was hanging of the side, her wing of the other. But her left wing was folded around Wrenlou, her head tucked in under it as well. Hiccup smiled and went to his spot on the floor when a soft sound from Toothless stopped him. The dragon was looking at him, one wing raised. Hiccup hesitated for a moment, before crawling under Toothless' wing. He snuggled up against the dragons warm belly, hearing the roar of the mighty heart. Toothless folded his wing around him, surrounding him with darkness and warmth. It wasn't long before he slept, in the safety of a dragon, under a dragon wing.


	19. Chapter 19 The week after

Just one chapter left after this... I have some ideas for a possible sequel, let me know if anyone is interested, and I'll write it. Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter 19 The week after

'So, what do you think?'

Hiccup and Wrenlou were watching the sunset from one of the bridges. Wrenlou turned around, facing the village.

'It's amazing. You've managed to get people and dragons living together peacefully. Different species of dragons too. Don't expect that to work with Night fury's.'

'Well, it worked with Toothless.'

'He's just one dragon. A whole group of Night Fury's can get violent towards other dragons.'

'Really?'

Hiccup turned around as well, facing the same way Wrenlou was. He ran a hand through his hair.

'When are you going?'

'Not anytime soon I think. I went flying this morning, but after a while I just get so dizzy. If I had been on Toothless, we would have crashed again.'

'You can stay for as long as you like, you know that right? Besides, it's only been a week, I wouldn't let you go even if you wanted to.'

Wrenlou smiled. He had been up for a few days. The bandage around his head was gone, but now the bruise had spread to almost the entire right side of his face. It covered half his forehead, surrounded his eye and almost his entire cheek. The cut on his arm was healing fast. They stood silently for a while in the growing darkness.

'I have to thank you Hiccup, for saving my life.'

'Nah that's alright. You saved Toothless, I was just repaying the favor.'

'Yeah, but if you hadn't acted when you did, it could have ended a lot worse. So, thank you.'

'You're welcome.'

The silence between them lasted a little longer this time. Hiccup though about Wrenlou leaving, he just couldn't get it out of his head.

'There is no chance you can stay?'

'What, you mean live here? I don't think so. I'm in trouble as it is. Snowflake and I will be grounded for weeks, I'm sure of it.'

'But you left to help a friend. Surely they'll remember that.'

'Oh they will. And then they'll remember that I disobeyed orders, stole the antidote, put my life and that of my dragon in danger and on top of that, I lost my wristguard. So, grounded. But that's okay. I'll survive being grounded.'

Hiccup looked at Wrenlou. He hadn't realized before, but Wrenlou had indeed lost his wristguard. He still had the one on his left arm, but the one on his right was gone.

'Can I have the other?'

'What? Hiccup...'

'I'm not kidding. You'll get it back I promise. Now can I have it?'

Wrenlou sighed, before taking of his wristguard and handing it to Hiccup.

'Fine. What do you plan to do with it anyway?'

Hiccup didn't answer, but studied the thing closely.

'Hiccup? What do you plan to do with it?'

'Oh don't worry. What's this?'

He tapped the metal that was fastened on top of the leather.

'It's copper. We find it on Copper island. On its own its softer that any metal, but if you mix it to create alloys, it's incredibly strong. I don't recommend flying with it in a thunderstorm though, it attracts lightning like crazy.'

'I can imagine. Toothless and I should definitely not fly in a thunderstorm. We both have quite some metal.'

Wrenlou smiled. 'I'm going to bed. I expect that back. And speaking of getting back, when do you want your bed back?'

'Wrenlou, we've been over this. I'm fine. I can sleep on Toothless' rock or on the floor. You can have the bed for as long as you're here. Or at least for as long as your face looks like that.'

'Don't remind me. Anyway, see you tomorrow then.'

Hiccup nodded and watched Wrenlou walk away. Then he headed to the forge. He had something to do.


	20. Chapter 20 Leaving Berk

Okay guys, final chapter. I'm not completely done yet, there will be an epilogue. Enjoy!

Chapter 20 Leaving Berk

When he woke up, he immediately closed his eyes again. He didn't want to get up. Yesterday he had decided that it was time for him to go. He had been here for three weeks and although he had loved every moment of it, he couldn't stay forever. He sighed and looked around the room, but Snowflake wasn't there. When he got downstairs, he noticed the entire house was empty. No Hiccup, no Toothless, no Valka. Even Cloudjumper was gone. But when he opened the door, he was met by loud cheering. It looked like the entire village had gathered in front of the house. Hiccup walked up to him, a big smile on his face.

'Hiccup, what the hell is going on?'

'Face it Wrenlou, you're a hero in their eyes. I couldn't stop them even if I wanted too.'

'You did as much as I did that day. Maybe more.'

'Yeah, but I'm not leaving. They just want to say goodbye, Wrenlou. You've become a part of our village, whether you like it or not.'

Wrenlou smiled. The rest of the day was all about celebrating. He couldn't understand why anyone would celebrate someone leaving, but Astrid told him that was the way they did things on Berk. The girl had warmed up to him after the battle with the Red Death, and he had become friends with her quickly. Snowflake was still a little cautious around her, and didn't want the girl to touch her. Wrenlou and Fishlegs had also developed a bound quite quickly. Mainly because Fishlegs wanted to learn about the Night Fury's and Wrenlou wanted to learn about any other dragons that they knew of. The day flew quickly and the time to go came too soon for him.

'Well, ehm... gods I hate goodbye's.'

Wrenlou sighed and looked at the people in front of him. Valka. Astrid. Fishlegs. Snotlout and the twins. Gobber and Eret and the rest of the village. But most importantly, Hiccup. Valka smiled and approached him.

'It was a pleasure meeting you,' she said, taking his hand.'

'Same here. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me. You saved my life. I owe you.'

Valka shook her head. 'You don't owe me anything. You brought my son and his dragon home save. That's enough for me.'

She pulled him into a tight hug and stood like that for a moment. Then Valka let go and smiled. She rubbed Snowflake's nose as a form of farewell and stepped back. Cloudjumper approached the smaller Night Fury, before gently nudging her side. The dragons rubbed their noses together, and Wrenlou rubbed the Stormcutter's head. After Cloudjumper had returned to Valka, Astrid came forward, followed by Stormfly.

'I can't say how sorry I am for everything that happened. The things I said. That I tried to kill you. I'm really sorry about all that.'

'That's okay. To be honest, Hiccup warned me that might happen. Only he said it might involve axes, not strangling.'

She laughed and hugged him too. She then turned to Snowflake and stretched her hand to touch the dragon. Instead of growling, like she usually did, Snowflake crooned and pushed her nose into Astrid's opened hand. She stroke the dragon and turned to Wrenlou.

'I guess I've been forgiven.'

'I guess so too,' Wrenlou said laughing.

After Stormfly said goodbye, Fishlegs came to say goodbye with tears in his eyes. Wrenlou had soon figured out he was the most sensitive of his age group. As always when Wrenlou saw him, he was holding the Book of Dragons. Meatlug, his Gronckle, seemed sad when she said goodbye to Snowflake.

'Thank you, for everything that you taught us.'

'Thank you too, for everything you taught me, Fishlegs.'

Fishlegs smiled and called his Gronckle, the backed up again. The rest of the goodbye's were quick, mostly because he didn't know everyone that well. Eventually Hiccup was the only one left. He walked over, followed by Toothless.

'I'll go with you to Dragon island.'

Wrenlou smiled. 'That's a little off route, but okay.'

Both moved to mount their dragons, when Hiccup suddenly stopped and looked at Wrenlou. Knowing what he meant, Wrenlou smiled. They quickly changed places and while Hiccup mounted Snowflake, Wrenlou mounted Toothless. Under loud cheering from the crowd they took off, heading to Dragon island.

They set down on one of the higher mountains. From there they had an incredible view of the ocean, the island and the sunset. They watched it silently, until Hiccup broke the silence.

'I don't want you to go.'

'I don't want to go. I like it here. I've even become accustomed to the cold. Plus, I'll miss you and Toothless.'

'Yeah I'll miss you too,' Hiccup said, standing up and walking towards Toothless. 'But before you go, I have something for you.'

Wrenlou looked up when Hiccup joined him on the rock again. He was holding two different things. The one being Wrenlou's wristguard, which he had asked for weeks ago, the other being the little notebook he had taken from Light city.

'I still had this.' He gave the wristguard back. 'I made you this to go with it.' He handed Wrenlou anther, similar in design, but the metal on top was different. It shone like silver.

Wrenlou sat stunned, the two wristguards in his hands, staring at Hiccup.

'You made me a new one? Why would you do that for me?'

'One less thing they get to nag about,' Hiccup said grinning, 'besides, you'll need something to remember me by. And because I could. The dragon is Gronckle iron. The Gronckles spit it out from time to time. It's lighter and stronger that usual iron.'

'Wow... well... I don't know what to say.'

'Thank you is good enough.'

After Wrenlou had fastened the wristguards in place, he looked at Hiccup again.

'Thank you.'

'I also have this for you.' Hiccup handed him the notebook. 'I wrote down everything I could about other dragons. That way you can teach the others in Dragon city. I put the Changewings first, maybe that will reduce accidents.'

'But Hiccup, the book...'

'It's fine, Wrenlou. I can get others. They won't be like that, but it's okay.'

'T... thanks again.'

It was silent while Wrenlou flipped through the pages, now filled with sketches and drawings and writing about so many different dragons. He got up and to put it away, then turned to Hiccup.

'I have something for you too.'

Hiccup looked up to see Wrenlou next to Snowflake, holding something in his hands. Curious, he stood up.

'All riders are given one after they take the oath. You never took the oath, but you are the rider of a Night Fury, so you too should have one.'

He handed Hiccup a small bundle of blue fabric. When Hiccup unwrapped it, it revealed a small shard from one of the blue crystals from Crystal cove. He gasped. The stone was glowing softly in the darkening night, illuminating their faces with an eerie glow. When he picked it up, he saw there was a chain attached to it, so he could wear it around his neck.

'When you get in trouble, this might help you. Remember, being near it is enough to boost a Night Fury's strength significantly. If he touches it, he's unstoppable. So you must be careful with it as well.'

Hiccup nodded, before slipping the chain around his neck.

'Why didn't I ever see that? I never saw it with anyone.'

'That's because we all keep it under our clothing. It's safer that way.'

Hiccup tucked the crystal shard under his clothes, and the blue glow fainted. Only now did they realized that the sun had sunk into the ocean completely, and that they were surrounded by stars.

'I guess I really have to go now.' Wrenlou said with a sigh.

'Yes, I guess you should.'

They turned to the dragons, who had curled up together, as they had done every night since they had arrived on Berk. They perked up when they heard their names being called by their riders.

'I'm going to miss you.' Hiccup said, 'both of you.' He scratched Snowflake's chin.

'I'm going to miss you too. But hey, it's only three days on dragon wings. You can come to visit. I don't think I'll be able to come anytime soon.'

Hiccup chuckled and looked at Snowflake. The dragon crooned softly. She gently pushed her nose into his hands, and Hiccup rubbed her nose. When he turned to Wrenlou again, he saw Toothless on the ground, growling with pleasure while Wrenlou rubbed his belly. As soon as he saw his rider look at them, he scrambled back onto four legs. Hiccup smiled. Wrenlou walked towards him and stuck out his hand. Hiccup grabbed it. After finally saying goodbye, Wrenlou mounted Snowflake.

Hiccup watched them fly off with pain in his heart. Snowflake roared one last time, before shooting a golden plasmablast into the sky. Toothless answered by doing the same, shooting his own blue plasmablast after his roar. Dragon and rider disappeared quickly and soon they had vanished from their sight. Hiccup stared at the horizon for another hour, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Wrenlou and Snowflake were truly gone. After spending almost three months together, he felt like he had lost a brother. He was sure that Toothless would miss Snowflake as much as he would miss Wrenlou. Eventually he and Toothless left for Berk again, flying slowly. He smiled when he saw the lights of his village appear. No matter how much he would miss the pair, this was where he belonged. No matter how much he loved Dragon city and Night Fury Island, this was his home.

'What do you think bud, one more flight?'

Toothless cooed and turned around, wings beating faster while he climbed, higher and higher, until the lights of Berk had disappeared under the clouds. While they soared under the stars, Hiccup smiled and realized he had been wrong.

This was where he belonged.


	21. Epilogue

So, this is also the beginning af a new story which I shall start updating in a week or so. After this I will post one last "chapter", with things you probably don't know, like trivia. Enjoy!

Epilogue

Things had finally gone back to normal on Night Fury Island ever since Wrenlou got back a month ago. Everything was as it had been before Toothless and Hiccup arrived, other than the fact that Snowflake and Wrenlou were still grounded. It didn't even seem to bother them, Broghan thought as he watched the pair walk across the plaza. He must admit it, he had been pissed when he saw Wrenlou's injuries. No, more than pissed. He had been furious. At least he came back alive. And with knowledge of dragons no one even heard of before. Next to his position as healer, the council also asked him to teach that knowledge to the new dragon riders at Learners bay. That was, after he was no longer grounded.

Broghan steered Moonchaser away from the city, towards the ocean. He felt a little guilty for being able to fly while his brother was not, but he also knew Wrenlou brought it on himself. He had known what would happen if he disobeyed orders, and he did so anyway. The council had been lenient, because he managed to kill the Red Death and because he left to help a friend.

He went back to the city when the sun began to set. There was no sign of his brother or his dragon. Broghan smiled. He knew they would be fine.

_Six months later..._

'...And with that I want to conclude the lesson on the Deadly Nadder. Are there any questions? Yes?'

'Why do they shoot spikes while they can also breath fire?'

'Excellent question. Most dragons have a shot limit. A Night Fury for instance can fire only six plasmablasts. The Nadder is no different. That's why most dragons have a secondary defense. For the Nadder it's their spine shot. Does that answer you question? Good. Any more questions? No? Okay, class dismissed. Come on everybody, let's go.'

After the teenagers had disappeared, Broghan landed on the beach where Wrenlou taught his classes.

'Very impressive brother.'

'Yeah right. So, what's up?'

'Why should something be up? Can't I just visit my brother from time to time?'

'You never come to this side of the island. So spit it out, what's up?'

'You're still leaving for Berk?'

'I have too. I've run out of book. I need more dragons.'

Broghan smiled. 'Yeah you said that. Well, have safe trip and come back soon.'

'As soon as possible. You know that, right?'

Broghan sighed as he watched Snowflake and Wrenlou take off. He had a terrible feeling that something would go horribly wrong...


	22. Trivia

Trivia

Things you might not know

1) Broghan is an old Irish name with many different meanings, including sturdy and strong. It's usually written without the 'H'. I got the idea for this name from my friends new puppy, which she named Brogan.

2) The condition Wrenlou and Snowflake share (their eyes) is called heterochromia iridis. There are many different variations, but the type they have is called complete heterochromia. This means one eye is a completely different colour than the other. I have been obsessed by this conditions since I found out I have central heterochromia, which means that the iris itself has two colours.

3) Wrenlou comes from the chinese word wĕnróu (温柔), which means gentle. (according to google translate, correct me if I'm wrong)

4) The poisonous frogs the Red Death ate are based of the poison dart frogs. The poison dart frogs life in the rainforest and are usually small, bright coloured frogs. There are many different kinds of poison dart frogs, all with their own level of toxicity. The ones the Red Death ate would most likely be considered extremely deadly to humans.

5) If I were to place Berk and Night Fury Island on the world map, I would say Berk was somewhere in Scandinavia, while I would place Night Fury Island in the Caribbean.

6) This is the first fanfiction I have written entirely on my computer from chapter one. Usually I start in a small notebook. This is also the first fanfiction I published and the first I have ever finished.

7) I made a few artworks for this fanfic. The first is a silhouette of Hiccup and Toothless flying an evening (or morning) sky. Mainly colour and not much detail. Can be found here:

http: (doubleslash) aurorathethird dot deviantart dot com (slash) art (slash)Hiccup-and-Toothless-489070043

I also made one of Wrenlou and Snowflake, which can be found here:

http: (doubleslash) aurorathethird dot deviantart dot com (slash) art (slash) Night-Fury-Island-489071887

And to get a better idea of their eyes, here's this one:

http: (doubleslash) aurorathethird dot deviantart dot com (slash) art (slash) Night-Fury-Island-2-489073705

Since the site won't let me upload hyperlinks, I have to do it like this. Hope you enjoy anyways!

Alright, that's it. My next story will be written mainly mostly from Wrenlou's point of view, although Hiccup is basically still the main character. Also, Dagur the Deranged will play a major part in this new story. For the ones that don't know him, he's a character from the series, Dragons: riders of Berk. A very mean character and an enemy of Hiccup. If you don't know the series, go watch it, it's amazing.

Thanks everyone who commented, followed, favorited or otherwise showed their appreciation, it meant a lot to me. I will most likely start updating the new story in a week or so, so stay tuned.

Love you all!

Aurora


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